Possibilities: AlxMei Short Fiction Collection
by Amy-Star
Summary: A collection of Al/Mei fan fics ranging from romance to friendship that I'm doing for a LiveJournal Challenge. Warning, there will be Manga spoliers.
1. I dream of a love

Mei Chan was the seventeenth imperial princess of the Xing Empire and with that came the responsibility of the preservation of her entire clan.

Out of all the fifty clans of Xing, the Chan clan was the weakest, to the point that it was more part of Xing's past then its present. It had been hundreds of years since the Chan clan sat on the throne, and the likelihood of them taking it back was so small that the other clans never saw them as a threat. It was not always like that, at one point in Xing history the Chan clan had been one of the most powerful clans even holding the throne for generations, until bad luck struck the clan of them only giving birth to daughters. Each of the Emperor's fifty wives prayed for the birth of a healthy son, for the prestige of their clan and for the chance of their son to become the next Emperor of Xing. There had never been a female ruler, Empress was a term used for the head wife and nothing else. Yanyu Chan had wept bitterly when she had given birth to a daughter, for she had hoped that the bad luck was not upon her.

Despite the complications that Mei's gender presented, her mother wanted Mei to be the first princess to change the definition of Empress to being the ruler of Xing, or to raise the clan's standing in court with a advantageous marriage. From an early age, Mei felt the weight of the expectations that both her mother and her clan had for her.

Her teachers subjected Mei to endless lessons in a variety of fields in order to prepare her for the power struggle for the throne; she was taught the healing methods of Rentanjutsu, how to perfect her ability to sense the energy flow of the Earth and people, calligraphy, martial arts, and even flower arranging. There was little time for Mei to play with the other children of the clan resulting in her best friend being a panda, or even to enjoy simple frivolous pleasures that others took for granted. For example, one time she foolishly asked her History teacher on a blistering summers day if she could go swimming in the nearby pond, Mei was sentenced to copying out an entire text on the History of Xing under the unforgiving sun.

Mei however never let it get her down, her greatest ambition was to help the clan but she also harbored a secret desire.

Late at night when everyone else was asleep, Mei would use superior skills in martial arts to sneak out of bed, and silently make her way through the shadows of the house to the library. Mei never grew fond of books, the ones her family had were brittle, dusty, and had a musty smell to them. The difficult passages inside them made it harder for Mei to take any joy from the activity, but along with the texts on History, Science and Philosophy there were also tales of romance and adventure. The worn pages from these books due to her constant reading had words that created a world far removed from her own.

Mei's favorite story, the one that she could recite word for word, was the tragic and romantic tale of Lady White Cat. Before the Gods in heaven created the country of Xing, there was a God and Goddess who broke the rules of Heaven and fell in love. The Emperor of Heaven angered by their disobedience banished them from Heaven and had their souls reincarnated on Earth. In those vulnerable forms, they would know labor, weakness, hunger, loss, pain and to eventually for death to take them. However, the Goddess did not return as a human but instead as a white cat, while her lover became the son of a poor scholar known as Li. Fate served the two lovers well for one day Li saved the white cat from drowning in the river, resulting in her falling in love and gathering the courage to visit the local mystic so she could become a human girl. The story had several volumes to it filled with tragic destinies, a curse that separated the two lovers, conflicts with the Gods, magic that both helped and hindered their journey, and of course true love.

Mei believed that Lady White Cat was true tale of love, because even though their forms were different it never lessened their love for the other.

The men she encountered in these books were strong enough to easily lift a women in their arms, sensitive enough to recite poetic descriptions of their love's beauty, and they were determined enough to defend their love from any obstacles that crossed their path. She longed to live in a world where passionate love conquered the wicked, of valiant displays of physically supremacy, grand journeys to exotic places, and that perfect moment of her first kiss underneath the silver moonlight. Then the sun would rise behind the mountains and with the early morning, dew her dreams of love would vanish with the first golden rays but inside, she believed that one day she would find her prince.

Even though she was, still a child Mei with little choice left her childhood behind and embarked on a journey for the search of immortality. One of her mother's confidants had heard that Ling Yao of the Yao clan had left to find the Philosophers stone in Amestris, so that he would gain favor with the dying emperor. Mei followed suit for the same reason, with only her faithful panda Xiao-Mei and a few provisions Mei crossed the hazardous desert, where many had tried to conquer but only a selected few had survived.

She vowed to stop thinking about romance; after all, she had an important mission to complete.

When she arrived in Amestris barely able to maintain consciousness and feeling as though her stomach was starting to eat her insides in its search for nourishment, the idea of finding true love seemed like an unlikely possibility. The kind people of the mining town of Youswell informed her of the Fullmetal Alchemist, the alchemical genius with golden hair and eyes, a man known throughout Amestris for being an alchemist for the people. Mei imagined him to be tall, handsome, dashing; with a charming disposition instead what she found was a short, foul tempered, silly boy.

His brother however was a different story.

She found it funny that her first assumption of Alphonse Elric was a demonic armor that had sinisterly captured her beloved Xiao-Mei; she even declared to Mr. Scar that she would never forgive him for his evil deeds. Mei had grown up with the idea that she had to take care of herself, and that she could expect to receive help from anyone, for to trust anyone was to leave herself open to danger. That was why she stunned when Alphonse Elric had thrown himself into danger in order to save her from the large Homunculus that was only a second away from eating her. He had proven his capacity for kindness by taking care of her beloved Xiao-Mei, which Mei knew from the faint scar on her ring finger, was not an easy task to accomplish. It was almost as if he had stepped out from the pages of a romantic tale.

There was a curse upon him as well; a curse that Mei knew not even love could lift.

He may not have fit her image of the romantic hero perfectly, but Mei decided that he was the closest to it.


	2. Once bitten, twice shy

Al never seemed to have any luck when it came to women.

That is not to say he did not get along with them. Even when he was young, Al had an easier time interacting with the fairer sex then most boys his age who were fearful on contracting cooties or just saw girls as stupid. Pinako said it was because he had a good heart that made people feel welcomed, his mother complimented him on being a gentleman, and Winry believed it was because he was sweet. Al concluded that it was not his personality that was giving him trouble, and he wondered how much his appearance was to blame. Perhaps he just did not have any luck, for his brother was on the short side and foul tempered most of the time, and he still managed to do better when it came to girls, though just barely.

When Al took the time to reflect back on his past dealings with girls, he found the list to be a string of the same unfortunate results. 

First, there was Rose from Liore, though Al had to admit it was more of a crush then anything. She was pretty and had a cheerful personality, when she smiled it made Al wish he could smile back. However, he should have known that appearances can be deceiving for they soon found out Rose harbored a dark desire to bring back her dead boyfriend. They needed to obtain the Philosophers stone and she was in the way. Her dreams would have to be shattered in the process, forcing her to face the harsh light of reality. Al could tell that even his brother felt bad about it, though he had used hard words to show his concern. They left her crumpled on the ground crying alone, the setting sun casting off long shadows as they left the city. Al regretted taking her smile away, he hoped that she would heed his words and move on to live a happier life. That is where the story ended.

Then there was Ruby. She was beautiful and intense, with her long silky black hair and black eyes that blazed with a fire that reminded Al of his brother. She never thought twice about him walking around in a full suite of armor, and she had a way of making Al feel welcomed. For a while, he was tempted to stay with her in the utopian society of Wisteria, where the people applied the Law of Equivalent Exchange to real life creating prosperity that he had rarely seen on his journey. He could not deny that a part of him liked pretending to be her fiancé, even if it was just so he could talk with the mayor of the town. In the end, he could not agree with her ideals once he saw that dark side of absolute Equivalent Exchange, even when she stood before him, desperation in her eyes as she pleaded for him to understand. He probably would never see her again, but he would always remember that rare soft expression on her face when they talked underneath a blanket of stars.

Lastly, there was Winry, his playmate, friend, sister, and the first crush he ever had with on a girl. Back when he still had his body, living in Risembool passing through his days with childish games and laughter, Winry was his best friend right after his brother. She tended to be bossy at times but she was always kind to him, teaming up with him to play tricks on his brother, or to share her cookies and crayons with him at school. When he and his brother argued about who would marry Winry, a part of him did it because he enjoyed teasing Ed but the other part really did want to marry her. She rejected the two brothers with a cruel flair not usually seen in six year olds, but years later Al knew, he that rejection was the only response he would receive if he confessed anything to her. Not that it mattered, he loved Winry but not in a romantic way, she would always be his family. Besides, she was meant to be with his brother, even if Ed was too thick headed to realize it.

With all his bad luck concerning women he was hesitant in thinking about them, that and he knew it was silly to worry about such things. He had bigger issues to deal with from government conspiracies, homunculus that wanted to use him as a sacrifice, to getting his body back, and making sure that his brother was not killed in the process. Sometimes though, when it was late at night and he had time to let his mind wander to self-desires, Al wondered what it would be like to be a normal teenager and have a girlfriend. He never talked to his brother about it, since Ed was holding back on his account, at least Al hoped that was the reason his brother kept pushing Winry away.

Lucky or unlucky for Al the women that he usually dealt with were far older then he was, or was in love with someone else. Girls around his age rarely crossed his path that was of course until Mei Chan had come crashing into his life.

He and his brother were pursuing Scar through the streets of Central, leaving behind a trail of destruction as they attempted to bring him down. Originally, they meant for him to help them coax the homunculus out from hiding, but it became a personal vendetta after the confrontation between Scar and Winry. 

The two of them finally had him cornered when a whirlwind of purple and pink came out of nowhere, and managed with martial art moves that would have impressed their teacher, to bring down the famous Elric brothers. Al was by no means a novice to martial arts, he even surpassed his brother in skills and hoped to one day equal his teacher, and yet a young girl managed to send him flying with a double kick to the ribs.

He remembered starring in shock at this young girl with an unusual hairstyle consisting of two buns and six thin braids crouched in a fighter's stance, her large black eyes blazing with righteous anger, as she demanded to know why they were attacking Mr. Scar.

Then only a few days later she appeared again, this time Al and his brother Ed were currently at the mercy of Envy in his true form while having to watch their friend Ling become a homunculus. Al never realized how dependent they were on their alchemy when suddenly the Homunculi's leader the Father managed to block their ability to use it. Mei on the other hand, fueled by a divine rage that originated in his brother's wrong doing, Mei not only performed alchemy but also the most powerful and impressive long-range alchemy Al had ever seen. Without even breaking a sweat, she managed to take down Envy in its most powerful form, a towering creature that was easily the size of a house that had the appearance too gruesome for most children's nightmares.

Right from the start Mei Chan had managed to dumbfound Al, making her stand out from his usual dealings with girls.


	3. Between a rock and a hard place

Al always thought himself to be a rational thinker; he had to be considering his brother was impulsive by nature.

Al preferred to think carefully about the consequences and benefits behind each action, but when he choose a path, he went full force. When he saw the small Xingese girl moments away from having a determined Gluttony consume her, Al found that all his rational thinking went out the window.

Al quickly moved across the floor dodging the ensuing battles around him, he hoped that his brother would be fine dealing with the newly formed Greed by himself; right now, his goal was getting to the girl first. He expertly performed a high kick that sent Gluttony flying, satisfied that the homunculus would not raise again he then bent down and scooped the injured girl into his arms, not surprised by how light she was.

He had to get her out of here; they would kill her if he did not.

The twisting dark tunnels were practically an underground maze, each turn he made only led to more endless darkness, Al soon realized with disdain that he had no idea which way would take him to the outside world. His escape was about to be realized when he turned a corner and was greeted by a dozen pairs of flashing yellow eyes, the ugly forms of the mutated chimeras could be barely seen through the shadows. It was almost as if they were waiting for him.

Al's metal body rooted itself firmly to the ground as he tightened his hold on the now unconscious girl; the panda lying on her stomach gazed up at him with panicked eyes. Al barely had any time to come with a solution when a bloody Scar appeared like a herald from Hell, an angered Envy in his demonic true form not far behind. The situation had impossibly turned worse, and they had a significantly low chance of survival since Al was no longer able to perform alchemy.

Without a choice, Al for the second time did something irrational, he asked Scar to take the girl and escape. Even though the idea of trusting a young girl into the hands of a killer that murdered Winry's parents would have made his blood, run cold if he had any. Not to mention he was going to try and fend off a pack of chimeras as well as Envy without using any alchemy, even if he was a precious sacrifice Al did not want to test on how far he could push them.

But the girl came first, and he had to protect her.

Of course, Scar refused to help, dark red eyes rested on Al as he mentioned of something else he had to take care of, making Al feel sorry for whoever was on the Ishbalan's hit list. Scar then made a daring escape by using alchemy to create a steam cloud to vanish into; even his brother would have been impressed. Al on the other hand was less then impressed when Scar left Al out in the open and vulnerable, not to mention using his helmet to set off the reaction. There were times when Al really wanted to punch the scarred man.

Eventually they were finally able to escape a place that could have been accurately described as Hell. Thankfully they were all alive and in one piece. Al figured that once he had distanced himself from the homunculus hideout his head would become clear from the fog where it had been stuck. Down in the tunnels he had carefully placed Mei inside the steel confines of his body, trying not to laugh when she mumbled something about not needing his help before promptly collapsing again.

"You're asking for trouble," His brother had warned giving Al the exasperated look he reserved for when Al took in a lost kitten, "You shouldn't be carrying that girl around with you." The two of them were now walking down the hallways of the military compound on their way to have a meeting with the Fuhrer, Ed looked displeased but Al thought it had more to do with displaying his naked body in front of a young girl. His brother tended to get worked up about things like that.

"It's just for awhile," Al tried to reason but knew even his brother could not turn away an injured girl, "Until we find out where Dr. Knox lives."

When they reached the room for the meeting, if Al was physically able to he would have shown surprise on his face by the hospitable setting, the Fuhrer even went as far as to serve them tea. Al hated being in the same room with the Fuhrer, his facial expression barely changed even when performing heinous acts of violence. When he coolly threatened to hurt Winry as a means to blackmail Ed, his feature barely shifted only his single eye hardened to cold steel that promised horrible consequences for Winry if they disobeyed him.

Al knew what inhuman acts of brutality the Fuhrer was capable of, he still had waking nightmares of being in the sewers and watching the Fuhrer decimate Greed's henchmen. The sound of his desperate screams echoing in his metal body in an attempt to stop the sword that was descending effectively killing Martel, someone he had promised to protect. He could not physically feel her blood, but he saw the deep red staining his interior where Martel use to be. That was the color of his failure, a deep red that screamed he was unable to save one life. When they finally left the rather interesting tea party, Al felt trapped but relived, for now Winry was to be the Fuhrer's trump card. His past experiences should have taught him about dealing with the Fuhrer he should have seen the attack coming but he did not. Al stood there only knowing that it was too late when a flash of silver lashed out like lighting, cutting through his armor as if it were made of paper not of steel.

The little girl should have been dead but for once, a God that Al felt he had no right to belong to, graced him.

Al felt mentally exhausted when he finally arrived at Dr. Knox's doorstep, wishing that he had the ability to close his eyes and sleep in order to escape for just a moment. Knocking politely on the front door Al stood patiently as he heard several loud thumps, followed by a string of curses that would have embarrassed Al if he were not so use to his brother's foul mouth. The door opened to reveal a cranky looking Knox; his face had deep lines that made him seem older then he was, crinkled as he stared up at Al in confusion.

"Alphonse Elric," He took a long drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke out into the now darkening purple sky.

"Hello Doctor," Al tried to sound cheerful but then realized it made the doctor frown more, "I have another patient for you."

Hesitation crossed Knox's features for a second, before he shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion and widening the door so Al could get in. The house was a mess, every surface had a thick layer of dust upon it, old newspapers and books were scattered on the floor, and if Al could smell he was sure the air would reek of cigarettes.

"That other girl who was brought here," Knox spoke up as he closed the door behind Al, "She's sleeping right now but she's better."

"Good and thank you, Doctor."

"Such trouble," Knox growled flicking the cigarette away onto the dirty floor, Al thought about warning him of the fire hazard that would cause but choose to stay silent instead. "I'm going to get supplies put whoever you brought here on the couch," Without another word, Knox turned and left Al alone.

Al moved towards a couch that was probably older then he was with several cigarette burns on the fabric, he wondered how Knox managed not to burn himself alive in his sleep. Untying the leather straps that kept his chest plate secured, Al swung it opened and immediately a small panda leaped out. Al ignored it for now as he carefully moved to dislodge the girl from inside, and then gently placed her on the couch. The panda quickly bounded towards her mistress, lying down on her chest as if to guard the girl or to keep her warm. Al then noticed hazy black eyes of the girl squinting up at him for a moment before they fell shut, the girl's body relaxed against the couch as she drifted into what Al thought would be a fitful sleep.

But she was alive and in one piece.

Al closed his chest plate before moving to sit down on the floor to wait for Knox's return, watching the girl twitch in her sleep; strands of black hair were plastered against her dampened face. It was hard to believe the amount of work it took to protect one girl, but now seeing her safe Al was glad he did

* * *

Mei did not know for how long she had been moving in between reality and the world of dreams, every time she gained her bearings in one it would shift to the other.

Images floated through her mind, they came at her either rapidly or slowly, but always she was unable to decipher what they meant; blood, a being that looked like a man but was not, creatures of unimaginable forms, dark tunnels, and a tall suit of armor.

When she finally managed to open her eyes and to stay awake, she gazed wearily at a room cluttered with discarded books, old newspapers, and several ashtrays filled with cigarette butts. Mei shifted nervously on the hard couch not knowing where she was, but at this point too weak to think about trying to escape. She had not felt this sore since her first day of martial arts training when her sensei practically pummeled her, his strict words of '_All of us can be brought down to our knees, but only the strong can get back up again'_, were burned permanently into her memory.

She raised a shaking hand to her forehead lightly touching the damp cloth resting on it; she blinked her large black eyes trying to cut through the haze in her mind. A loud clunking sound interrupted her pitiful attempt, as she turned to see a now familiar armor carrying a bowl of water, soft red and white lights gazing at her through the eyeholes of the helmet. She had a vague memory of being inside the armor, but she decided it hurt too much to figure out how that would make sense.

"You're awake," The voice had an echo quality to it, but sounded younger and relieved then she expected. Mei still did not trust him, she wanted to demand answers from him and despite her current condition to use force if necessary. He was after all the armor ogre that took Xiao-Mei from her, it was then that Mei realized she had no idea where her panda friend was.

"Xiao-Mei!" She cried out desperately moving herself up painfully into a sitting position, "Xiao-Mei!"

To her delight she caught the small form of the panda sitting on top of the armor's shoulder, and soon the white and black body was hurtling itself towards Mei's open arms. Mei laughed with joy while tears of thankfulness streamed down as she held her friend tightly to her chest. After the brief but happy reunion was over, she wiped the remaining tears away with the sleeve of her shirt, before looking up to see the armor starring at her. He was keeping a polite distance but he was nearly hovering over her, and though it was impossible to read his expression Mei sensed a wave of kindness emitting from him.

"I'm glad the two of you are together again," with his arm creaking from the movement the armor reached over and took the cloth that had fallen onto her lap, "Good thing I kept her with me when I found her on the streets."

Mei remained silent as he talked her face scrunched up in thought while she watched the armor dip the cloth in the water before wringing it out. Suddenly the helmet lifted upward and Mei felt strangely embarrassed at being caught starring at him. "You should lie down," he gently scolded and Mei felt herself complying without putting up a fight. It was because she was injured she reasoned internally, not because she found it hard to argue with him.

"Th-thank you," she struggled to say which was only heightened when the armor crouched down then leaned forward to place the cloth back on her forehead, "I'm indebted to you for saving Xiao-Mei."

Mei almost swore she saw the armor smile, but knew it had to be a trick of the light.

"She's very vicious," the armor stated reaching out with one finger to softly pet the top of the panda's head, "But she's actually very sweet."

"She's just defensive," A bright smile crossed Mei's face as she watched Xiao-Mei practically purr on her stomach, "Her family abandoned her because she was so small, even though I took her in I think she's trying to make up for it."

"Sounds like someone I know," Mei recognized the laughter in his voice from his own private joke but then he paused and faced her fully, "But actually she's like you."

Mei cocked her head to the side and stared up at the steel face of the armor with a confused look on her face, making Al quickly explain, "I mean that the two of you seem scary but you're actually a sweet little kid."

Mei flushed an angry scarlet at that, her black eyes narrowing in indignation at his comment though she did not know if she was more offended at him calling her scary or a child.

"I take it back," she declared loudly in her best commanding princess voice before rolling onto her side away from him, "I owe you nothing!"

She fumed silently ignoring Xiao-Mei's muffled protests since she was squished between her and the couch, and the soft laughter of the armor behind her.

"I'm sorry," the armor eventually apologized even though she could still hear the amusement in his voice. Mei huffed but did not want to appear like a spoiled kid, so she turned back towards him on the couch giving him a dignified and haughty look.

"I accept your apology."

"I'm glad to hear it."

The two lapsed into a strange silence, with Al interrupting it ever so often to question aloud where Dr. Knox had gone off to, or if his brother was actually repairing the streets that had taken the full blunt of their battle. Mei was feeling herself slowly slip back into sleep when the sharp sound of metal scratching snapped her awake and she looked to see that the armor's head turned towards her.

"What are you doing in this country?"

Mei frowned with suspicion her mother had warned her not to tell anyone of her mission, but he did after all save both her and Xiao-Mei so maybe he could be trusted. "I'm here to help my clan," Mei responded in a determined voice hoping he did not notice her intended editing; lying was not an act she liked to do.  
"Really? I'm sure they wouldn't want you to come out here alone," Once again Mei could almost see an expression on the steel face but this time it was one of sympathy.

"They sent me here," Mei said proudly for it was an honor to be entrusted with the fate of her clan, "I have to protect them no matter what it takes."

Al gazed at her almost stern expression that looked out of place for someone her age, it was sad to see a young girl carrying what sounded like a heavy burden. Then Al had to remind himself that he was in a similar situation, sometimes even, he forgot that he was only a fourteen-year-old boy, trying to fight against the forces of the world. Then again, it would be worth it, to get his body back so that Ed would not carry guilt around him like a dark shroud anymore, he wanted them to get on with their lives. Winry had also promised to bake him apple pie.

"You'll do it," Al stated in what he hoped was a confidant voice.

Mei gave him a radiating smile that made Al feel suddenly flustered, "I'm sure you'll reach your goal Mr. Armor."

"Mr…Armor?"

"Oh sorry," Her eyes grew downcast as she began to fiddle with her blanket, "I don't know your name."

"It's Alphonse, but call me Al."

"Mr. Al," Mei nodded her head in confirmation and giving him a sweet smile, not noticing Al's discomfort.

"No, please just Al, there's no need for a Mister."

"Would you like me to call you miss?" Mei scrunched her nose in confusion, this country certainly had strange customs but she believed it was wrong to judge.

"Um no I'd rather you didn't," Al sighed his large shoulders slumping in defeat, not being able to argue with her when she gazed up innocently at him with wide black eyes, "You can call me Mr. Al."

She beamed brightly at him and Al could not help but feel himself smile back.


	4. Different shapes and sizes

_Never let your heart open with the spring flowers:  
One inch of love is an inch of ashes. __**  
Li Shang-Yin during the ninth century CE.**_

Mist rolled down from the far blue mountains almost obscuring the black pine trees that surrounded the Chan clan estate.

The rainy season had just begun a week ago and already the air felt constantly cold and damp. The sun was just beginning to rise from its resting place behind the mountains, all of the servants, officials, and important clan members that made up the occupants of the mansion were still asleep with one exception.  
_  
_Mei quietly crept down the outside hallway that wrapped itself around the garden that was the centre of her home. She had just spent the entire night reading romantic tales in the library, and was attempting to return to bed before her nurse and head maid Jun-An noticed her disappearance. Xiao-Mei's diminutive body shivered in the early morning air pressing herself closer to Mei's shoulder, Mei gave a comforting pat to convey that soon they would be back in her warm bed. She was about to round the corner that would lead off to her room when her eyes caught the form of a person that was out of place.

Ten feet away from where she stood Mei saw her mother sitting on one of the stone benches, a thin book resting on her lap and her eyes starring intently out into garden. A passerby that was not Mei would surmise that her mother was taking the recently blooming flowers. The small white jasmines that would later be used for tea and fragrance, the royal purple and white lilacs that the maids would cut to place them in vases around the mansion, and the soft pink water lilies that drifted on the calm surface of the pond. However, Mei knew that her mother never like flowers; when she was younger Mei would give her mother small bouquets of flowers that she collected for her. It was not until later that Mei found out that they were quickly disposed of, a fact that most of the servants tried to keep hidden from her.  
_  
"Your mother has too much fire." Jun-An who had also been the nurse for her mother, explained when Mei had come crying to her, "She's too intense for small things, they just get burned up."_

_"What about me? I have fire too right?"_

_"No little mistress, you are the water that is at one moment serene then the next turbulent."_

Mei had not been pleased with that answer she had hoped that their elements would at least be complimentary not conflicting.

She was nothing like her mother.

Yanyu Chan was a fierce woman that had both a fiery disposition and a cold exterior. She had an ambitious nature not usually seen in the woman of the Chan, she had no difficulty presenting herself as a gentle noble woman but it was not smart to cross her. Her mother possessed a striking appearance that provided her the tools that she needed to become one of the Emperor's concubines. Long ebony black hair meticulously cared for was elegantly styled into a high ponytail that reached her back. Slanted black eyes that had captivated more than one man were set against a delicately curved face with skin as white as the jasmines growing nearby. She was the perfect image of an Emperor's wife, from her straight posture that gave her regal air to the way her dark red robes with intricate designs of cranes were arranged neatly around her.

Mei continued to stare for the first time openly at her mother, for Jun-An said it was rude to stare at your elders, but really Mei was afraid that her mother would see even more differences between them. Like fire and water the two of them were complete opposites, a fact that her mother would remind Mei of constantly. On those rare occasions when the two of them spent time together, Mei would smile a certain way or make a gesture that would cause her mother to frown. "She's too much like my sister," Her mother would then sigh, giving Mei an accusing look as if she did it on purpose, "Exactly likes Yu-Ming; one would think you were her daughter."

Mei had never met her Aunt who had died before she was born, but from the stories she heard of the playful Yu-Ming Chan was that, she was a constant source of frustration for her big sister.

Normally Mei would try to avoid crossing paths with her mother, especially when she had recently done something that her mother would not approve of. Instead, she took several shaky steps forward into her mother's field of vision and no other movement was necessary for her mother to notice her presence.

"Mei," Her mother spoke calmly dark eyes resting on the younger Chan, "What are you doing up this early?"

"Oh I was…I was practicing my characters," Mei gave her brightest smile and hoped her mother would take her lie for a truth, but with Xiao-Mei snickering on her shoulder, she doubted it.

"I see," Yanyu, responded before turning her attention back towards the garden, "You weren't reading those love stories in the library again?"

Mei flushed red with embarrassment and internally berated herself for allowing her mother to find out her secret, she was the last person Mei wanted to know.

"You should give up such foolishness Mei," Her mother spoke softly in a drained voice, "It will only lead to misery."

Mei stood there stunned, her eyes wide with surprise. She had expected to hear her mother's harsh words, to be locked in her room for a week and for all her precious novels to be burned before her. None of that came, her mother simply continued to gaze out into the garden as if she was seeing a vision that Mei could not.

"Mother, have you ever been in love?"

"Once," Her mother replied with evident control, "A long time ago."

Mei's wide black eyes lit up with delight at the thought of hearing the romantic tales of her mother's youth.

"I was foolish back then," Suddenly her mother turned sharply towards Mei making her jump back in surprise, "Listen carefully Mei, love is pointless. It makes the heart weak and the mind lose reason. You are better off not opening yourself to it." Without another word, her mother stood up and with a proud grace moved past Mei ignoring the look of turmoil on her daughter's face.

"You're wrong," Mei cried out as she whipped around to face her mother, who had stopped walking but did not turn around. Mei felt herself regret her rashness but like the water, once she started flowing there was nothing that could stop her. "Love is the greatest, and I'm going to find it one day!"

She waited for her mother to lash out, for her scalding words to burn down her resolve. It never came, with a sweep of her flowing robes her mother continued walking out of the garden, leaving Mei behind with the flowers. Mei trembled with emotion, feeling the hot sting of tears welling up in her eyes not knowing if they were from relief or anger. Xiao-Mei rubbed her head against her mistress's neck, the tickling sensation of the soft fur forced Mei to smile.

Her mother was wrong, love was beautiful and it conquered any obstacle, and she would never stop looking for her prince.

_My true-love hath my heart and I have his,  
By just exchange one for the other given;  
I hold his dear and mine he cannot miss;  
There never was a better bargain driven.  
_**Philip Sidney**

The early afternoon sunlight poured through the cluster of leave from the tree outside the small white house, casting shadows across the Elric's living room floor.

Al narrowed his eyes against the light that had slowly drawn him out of his nap. His older brother Ed still asleep lay beside him on the thick blue rug in front of the fireplace, books on alchemy were scattered all around them. Earlier in the day, the two brothers had proclaimed to further their research on the composition of metals, but the warm sun and the smell of cinnamon apple cookies baking in the oven persuaded the brothers to drift asleep.

Al turned his head towards Ed hoping to find his older brother awake only to discover Ed asleep with his mouth wide open and his stomach exposed. A small frown appeared on Al's face as he silently wondered why at age nine his brother still slept like a toddler. Switching his head to the other side where his mother was sitting in a rocking chair made by his grandfather, her gentle face had a serene expression of content that showed in the brightness of her evergreen eyes. Soft chestnut brown hair in a loose ponytail rested over her right shoulder; she wore a simple purple dress but was by no means baggy on her frame. Trisha Elric radiated goodness and kindness, traits that made her very beloved in the small town even if she often kept to herself.

Humming a familiar folk song as she worked through a pile of clothes that needed mending, all of them belonging to him and his brother. With guilt rising in his chest Al could hear the scolding they would get from Granny Pinako as the two of them with their friend Winry would come home from a day playing in the woods, catching frogs in the river, exploring the valley beyond the town, or jumping into hay stacks in Nellie's barn house. It was invertible that their clothes would be soiled or torn, but they always felt bad when Granny reminded them of how much work their mother did for them.

"Especially since…"

She would always start but never complete her sentence, it was not necessary everyone knew she meant to say, "Especially since you're father is not here." Ed would become enraged at the mention of the man he despised, would then yell back that they did not need an old crone telling them off. Al and Winry would then watch nervously from the sidelines as the two of them engaged in an insult war before eventually Granny Pinako would chase Ed away with a broom. The two brothers then would walk home in shamed silence, knowing that when they showed their mom the state of their clothes, she would smile and think nothing of it.

It always seemed like she was smiling, and Al wondered sometimes if that meant she was happy.

Al squinted his golden brown eyes at his mom as though she were a mirage he was trying to focus on, after a minute he relented when he realized it was getting him nowhere. He continued to watch her feeling the warmth of security she provided, Al knew that everything would be all right as long as his mom was around.

Al sluggishly pushed himself into a standing position, golden brown eyes blinked sleepily while he attempted to flatten his messed crop of dark gold hair. He noticed that his mom had halted in her work and was now gazing almost sadly at a familiar framed photograph, the first and only picture of the entire Elric family together.

Softly, Al made his way towards his mom, the fact that she did not notice his appearance attested to how deep in thought she was. When he was, only a foot away his mom suddenly snapped back to reality, an expression of confusion on her face before quickly giving him a kind smile. "Alphonse," She spoke gently but then paused when she noticed the awkward look on his face, "What the matter honey? Are you not feeling okay?"

Al shook his head against the idea before bowing it slightly towards the ground, "I was just wondering…do you miss father?"

A small sigh escaped his mom's lips before she placed a comforting hand on Al's head making him look upward.

"Sometimes, yes I do."

"But doesn't that make you sad?" Al questioned concern evident in his large golden brown eyes.

"Alphonse love isn't simple or easy."

Al cocked in his head to the side face now scrunched up in confusion, "But I'd be sad if you went away."

Trisha melted at her youngest child's sweet nature, it reminded her of her father, that genuine kindness. Leaning forward she took one of Al's small hands and raised it to his chest, "When you truly love someone they have a place in your heart, so it's like they never go away."

"Really?" Al asked with wonder but also skepticism.

"That's right," she squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, "You're father has a piece of my heart and I have a piece of his."

"Sounds painful," Al grimaced and even though he knew it was physically impossible to give someone a piece of your heart, it still sounded like an undesirable act to him. His mom started to laugh and instantly Al could not help but grin.

"Trust me, you'll find that special person one day that'll make it worth the trouble."

"I dunno," Al mumbled.

"Of course you will," Resting one of her hands on each side of his face, "My handsome and sweet boy."

A deep stain of red flushed across his face from embarrassment making his mom laugh even more, she placed a soft kiss on his forehead before slowly getting up to her feet. "Well then," She smoothed down the wrinkles from the front of her dress, "We should get dinner started. Now where is your brother? Oh dear, he slept with his stomach exposed again."

For the rest of the day and into the night Al thought about what his mom said, and even though he did not understand what she was talking about, he hoped that someday he would.


	5. Salvation comes only in our dreams

Al wondered what he would dream if he could.

Since he could no longer sleep it had been four years since Al wandered through the images of his mind, he could barely remember what it felt like. However, images from a reality that he wanted to forget would still overwhelm him; they came at night when Ed at times slept fitfully dealing with his own demons. The shadows and dark parts of Al's mind would come alive, pushing through the barriers that Al usually erected to keep them at bay.

A woman with long chestnut brown hair and a smile that matched the warmth of the sun. A grey stone that stood as a reminder of loss. A creature, their creation, lurking in the shadows of the basement crying out in…Pain? Anger? Vengeance? It was hard to tell.

A gate. Hands and arms twisted and slick like black ribbons coming towards him. Images that could not be defined or seen, but were everywhere and spoke of an ancient truth. Laughter. Someone was laughing coldly. A cruel grin that spoke volumes of how pathetic and foolish he was.

His brother's screams cut through it all. Blood everywhere, his blood, Ed's blood, their mother's blood, it was all the same. Beautiful dreams that once brought hope were now soaked in that blood.

Al hated the night; he hated this immortal body for denying him escape. 

He never told anyone about them with the exception of Winry who had innocently asked him one night if he was able to sleep. Al had confessed more than he should have, telling her of the dark thoughts that consumed him. The incident had left a mark on his childhood friend, as it became one of her main reasons why she believed he should get his original body back. Al even refrained from telling Ed, because his brother suffered from the same problem, but each brother did not want to burden the other.

Al imagined that anyone who had gone through horrible experiences suffered during the night, after hearing Dr. Knox's story on the Ishbal War he realized that he and his brother were not the only ones. It was funny to Al that the sad memories seemed to attach themselves more firmly, that their effects were like ripples continuously to be felt even when years had passed.

Al shifted his gaze to the window outside the night had long since overtaken the city and his brother still was not back yet. Dr. Knox had retreated to the end of the house to check up on Lan Fan, the man seemed possessed with a strange energy to keep himself busy after he dug up memories of the past. The house was now quiet and Al felt that there was no longer any reason for him to stay, especially when he felt a deep pull to find his brother. With a low creak of his armor, Al turned to find Dr. Knox in order to excuse himself when his eyes caught the small form of Mei, her hands clutching fearfully at the blanket.

"Can't sleep?" Al questioned softly as he moved towards her temporally abandoning his mission to find Dr. Knox.

She looked up at him with fear clearly in her eyes; she was still young enough that Mei did not know how to push her emotions aside. "I don't want to sleep," she whimpered softly while her panda companion rubbed its small head against her chin.

"The war is over," Al reminded her gently as he sat down beside the couch so they could be at eye level, "There's nothing for you to be afraid of." Al silently berated himself for lying to her, there was a many things out there for her to be afraid, she probably seen a good number of them already.

"I'm not afraid," She snapped back at him jutting her chin out in a look of defiance, "I just don't feel like sleeping. "

Al tried to remember being her age after hearing something particularly scary, which often came from Granny Pinako when she was in the mood to tell them ghost stories. The three of them would always laugh it off, spending the rest of the night teasing each other about being scared at certain parts. However, when the night came the house would creak as if someone was wandering the darkened hallways, the air seemed colder, and fear would now make them resist dreaming for what might be in them. The three of them would get little sleep on nights like that.

"I once had a dream that my entire hometown was submerged in water," Al began glad to see the fake fearlessness melt from Mei's face in replacement of a look of confusion, "These two big fishes then began to pull my bed around like a chariot."

"Really? That would be fun," Mei leaned in with interest, a broad grin on her face as she imagined what it would be like to have fish pull you around in a chariot.

"Yea it was at the beginning but when I woke up," Al shifted nervously recalling how embarrassing this memory was, "I wet my bed and my older brother made fun of me for weeks." Mei burst into giggles at that comment, attempting to smother the sound by covering her mouth with her hands but failing miserably at it. He should have been mad but he was enjoying her brightening mood too much to be angry with her.

"I once dreamed that a ninja lobster and tiger were fighting each other," Mei told eagerly before laughing again at the mere memory of the dream.

"Why were they fighting?" Al asked with amusement at her antics.

"I dunno," Mei shrugged her shoulders though she had calmed down her eyes were glossy from the tears of laughter, "Maybe they wanted to become emperor. What other dreams have you had? I want to hear more."

"Oh I can't remember many."

"Why not?"

"I don't actually sleep anymore," Al turned his head away from her not wanting to see her reaction, "Remember when you were inside my armor and nothing was there, that's because my body is somewhere else."

"You don't sleep at all?" He could hear the wonder but also the sympathy in her voice.

"No, not anymore."

"So that means you're alone at night?"

"Yes."

"Oh." 

There was a pause of silence before Mei startled Al by her sudden appearance before him, she must have moved fast and quietly for him not to notice. Al was prepared to see her crying at his sad situation, or at least give him the look of pity that he had grown accustomed to during the years. Instead, there was one of determination, giving him a confident smile as she reached out and took hold of his much larger hand.

"When I find the secret of immortality and become immortal, I promise you won't always be alone at night."

Al had seen that look before that blind faith in one's own abilities and that a sense of purpose was all it took for everything to turn out all right. It was the same expression that was reflected in the gold eyes of his brother when he was younger, and Al suspected that he also used to hold it in his own as well. A child's ability to dream of the impossible was both uplifting but also damaging.

"No," Al shook his helmet trying to convey concern in his voice, "You shouldn't give up your dreams Mei."

"But I have to find the secret to immortality," She replied firmly her face crinkling with a frown, "My clan is depending on me."

The two stared at each other Mei unwilling to back down on her mission and Al trying to find a way to reason with her, but in the end, Al felt that right now he probably would not be able to sway her. The giant armor let out a soft sigh before gently pushing her back to the couch, "Well just think about what I said," Al tucked Mei's blanket around her before standing back up again, preparing himself to leave and continue on his journey.

"But aren't you sad? I hate being alone at night," Mei recalled the many nights she had forced her nanny Jun-An or one of the servant girls to sit with her to sing or tell stories until she fell asleep. Now years later, despite going off on a mission alone, Mei still hated being alone when the sky grew dark and the world became quiet. Mei decided that once she got better she would search for Mr. Yoki and Mr. Scar.

"I'm a little sad, but that's why I'm going to get my body back. I want to be able to dream again."

Mei pulled the blankets up to her chin Al could almost hear the gears in her head turning as she attempted to make sense of what he was saying. He felt bad in the beginning he just wanted to make her feel better, now Al realized that he might have possibly made the situation worse. "You should go to sleep now," Pulling up one of the stray wooden chairs in Knox's living room Al sat down with a loud creak, "I'll wait here until you fall asleep."

Mei nodded before closing her eyes shut; hoping that she would dream of the world becoming an ocean where fish became your playmates, and there were no menacing forces to hurt you.


	6. Seeing is believing

Based on the FMA movie Conqueror of Shamballa

Hong Kong, China, 1925

The air was thick with heat and the smell of spices forcing Al to wonder how important public decorum was since he desired to take off his clothes and jump into the Shing Mun River that was tempting him with its dark and cool blue color. Golden brown eyes squinted against the harsh sun, wondering how the people in the marketplace could still bustle about their business while Al felt like he was on fire.

It had been two years since Al left behind his old world so that he could be with his brother on the other side of The Gate. The two of them picked up where they left off traveling through the different countries of this new world, always working towards preventing a war that Ed appeared to be able to see looming in the horizon like gathering storm clouds. Out of all the places they visited Al was finding China to be most fascinating, especially Hong Kong that was a mixture of Eastern and Western culture that managed to reach a balance akin to the famous Chinese philosophy of Ying and Yang. As Al wandered down the busy market place, the shops he passed were an eclectic collection from both cultures: an herbal medicine store, a Catholic Church gleaming white in the sun, a Chinese restaurant that had spicy smells of noodles and fried dumplings, and British soldiers laughing loudly in a traditional English pub.

Politely refusing to purchase a vase from one of the merchants Al once again slid his eyes towards the Chinese grocery store where his brother was suppose to meet him, only to find that he had still not arrived. Ed had left him alone nearly an hour ago stating that he had to go meet up with a friend that could give him an update on Sun Yat-sen, a man who had apparently a relationship with their late father.

"He's not doing so well," Ed had informed him last night at their hotel room with a grimace on his face, "He has cancer and probably won't live much longer."

"What's going to happen?" Al had heard about the series of uprisings and revolutions, which left the country without stability.

"Chiang will probably take over," Al remembered how grave and worried his brother appeared in the dim light of their room, "I just want to stay here a little longer, to see how it turns out and then we'll return to our journey."

Al had tried to persuade Ed to allow him to go with him but Ed said his informant only wanted him to go alone, which made Al want to come even more. His older brother simply waved away Al's concerns stating that his friend was just suspicious, saying that Al should enjoy himself by playing tourist for a day. Al wanted to protest and recalled that in the past, he had managed to get his way in the end, but now their relationship had changed. Both of them grew up differently from the time spent apart and the now five-year difference between them was not helping. Al tried to make due with the situation and enjoy the hectic marketplace where people alternately gave him suspicious glares or tried to sell him something, but in the back of his mind, he worried about his older brother.

A thundering loud crash then echoed through the market place, everyone flinched then stiffened like small birds waiting to take flight if the noise confirmed that a cat was coming their way. Two loud voices began to curse loudly and from what Al could pick up from his knowledge of Chinese were the shouting about a "damn girl". Al moved farther into the street and craned his neck so he could see what was going on, however all he saw was a flash of black before Al felt someone slam into him making him lose his balance. The two of them went toppling to the ground becoming a mess of limbs and each sharing injuries on their bodies from their collision. When the bright red stars of pain receded from his eyes, Al allowed them to travel down where a young girl probably only two years younger then he was nursing a sore head.

"Are you alright?" Al managed through his shocked state, taken a back when the girl shot right up, large black eyes staring at him with concern. 

"I'm so sorry," she cried out bowing her head in apology before sitting back up again looking like a humiliated little kid. Al gave her a shaky smile before his eyes focused on the thin line of blood that traveled down her forehead.

"You're forehead," Al leaned forward now focused on inspecting the wound," Looks like you got a cut."

"Oh really," Her hands flew to the cut and brought them back to her face to see there was now blood on her fingertips, "I'm going to get scolded for that."

"Hey there she is!"

"Get that damn girl!"

"Uh oh looks like its time to go," Quickly jumping to her feet the girl gave him one more bow in apology, "Sorry about running into you." She then sprinted away with a feline grace moving through the spaces of the crowd, her long black hair done up in braids and two buns whipped behind her. Seconds after she disappeared, two rather large and menacing looking men followed suit, yelling curses and threats of what they would do once they captured her. Al watched them leave as the marketplace soon resumed its business as if the whole event had not happen; he however could not so quickly forget. Even though he was no longer a suit of armor that could withstand bullets or was he in a world where he could apply his masterful alchemy, Al would never be the type of person to sit back and watch others get hurt.

He followed them deep into the streets where the crowds soon thinned out and the surrounding area took on a much more dilapidated and run down appearance. A tight knot of pain was appearing in his side from the running and his legs began to burn in protest with every sharp corner he rounded and the long sprints he took in order to keep the two men in his line of sight. Al mentally berated himself for not keeping himself in shape, shuddering at the thought of what his teacher would say if she saw him like this. Following them around one last corner Al found that the narrow alley was empty and he could no longer hear the sounds of footsteps of the two men. Al mumbled in distaste about the situation under his breath, taking in his surroundings for a clue about where they went, when another loud crash thundered through the air.

It seemed whenever this girl went destruction and violence followed.

Once again, he ran down the narrow alley side stepping to avoid running into a group of men smoking, giving him a look that wondered why a foreigner was in this part of town. Al ignored them knowing that if tried to stop and ask for directions it might result in a fight, a similar incident happened three days ago when his brother asked for directions.

He realized for a second that his brother could be back at the shop wondering where he was.

Al hoped that he would reach the girl in time before she was injured or worse killed. Al pounded around the last corner prepared to through himself into the middle of a fight; however, he only managed to arrive just in time to catch the girl flipping one of the men over her back into a pile of wooden crates. The girl then rounded on the second man her black eyes flashing with anger, smears of blood and dirt covered her face making her appear like a feral animal or an American Indian warrior Al had read about in Ed's books. The man seemed to hesitate as he took nervous glances towards his unconscious partner, but seemed to gather a speck of courage that was most likely because she was still just a slip of a girl. The man brought out a large knife charging towards her screaming a battle cry, the girl remained without a hint of fear on her face as she shifted into a battle stance. When there was a foot of space in-between the man made a wild slashing move with the knife that the girl easily deflected before bending down slightly and punching him dead in the stomach. The man stumbled back in pain, which the girl used to her advantage as she delivered a roundhouse kick to the man's head.

Al stood there stunned.

The girl waited with tightness in her body, when neither man stood up again her shoulders began to relax. Tilting her head up with a superior expression on her face, she gave each man a disgusted glance before she turned on heel towards the alley's entrance only to be slightly stunned at seeing Al. "Oh its you," her face now had a look of mild surprise, in a manner of seconds she transformed back to a young girl from a terrifying warrior.

"Yes its me," Al managed to regain some of his composure before giving her a disarming smile, "Thought I would come and help you, but you really didn't need it."

She suddenly turned bashful her eyes averting to the ground while looking pleased at his compliment, "Th-thank you," She gave him another bow that Al awkwardly returned, "My name is Chan Mei. What's yours?" 

"Alphonse…"

His instincts made a sharp cry of awareness that someone was sneaking up behind him forcing him to stop his introduction and turn around to face the threat. Al caught the fist on the second man in mid punch before twisting it unnaturally eliciting a cry from his opponent, raising his right leg Al kicked him directly in stomach sending him flying again.

"Wow," Mei breathed out her black eyes filled with starry eyed admiration, "I've never seen a white foreigner fight like that, they're usually too weak from relying on guns."

Al smiled in return deciding to take the comment and ignore the backhand insult, "Thank you, I guess I have a unique background compared to some."

"Please allow me to pay you back for helping me."

"Well you did most of the work but," Al looked slightly sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck from his embarrassment.

"But?" She looked up at him eagerly and even though they were near the same age, she looked very young to him with that expression on her face.

"Can you tell me how to get back to the market?"

Ten minutes later with conversation topics such as the weather and their favorite Chinese dish already discussed; the two of them fell into an awkward silence. Mei kept sneaking curious glances when she thought he was not looking, and Al tried to pretend that he did not notice that she kept looking at him.

"So…" She began starring at him directly with her face scrunched up in interest.

"So," Al replied even though he knew it sounded ridiculous but felt at a loss of what else to say.

"Where are you from anyways? We get a lot of foreigners here so I've gotten pretty good at placing accents, but I can't place yours."

Al wondered what she would say if he told her that he was from a country called Amestris that does not exist in this world, but it does in a parallel universe where alchemy is real and you have to pass through a mystical gate to get to it.

"Germany."

"You don't have a German accent," She replied giving him a suspicious stare.

"Yes well, I was born there but my brother and I travel around a lot."

"Hmmm," She did not seem to completely take his lie for truth but for now found it satisfactory, "You're parents are fine with you not being at home?"

"Both of my parents are dead," Al tried to sound casual about it but found that his tone still became tight when mentioning their deaths.

"I'm sorry," She quickly turned her head away so that her eyes stared downcast towards the ground, "I ask too many questions, I'm always getting yelled for that."

"No really its fine," Al wanted to reach out and pat her on the shoulder but worried that she would find it inappropriate, "My mother died a long time ago and I never got the chance to get to know my father."

Mei shook her head in disagreement, "There is no greater loss to a family then one of its members."

The awkward silence returned from Al's rather personal confessions and he wondered why he even told about it in the first place, he lied where he was from why could he not lie about his parents. There was just something in the way her large black eyes that was making it increasingly harder to lie. Al was just about to point out what an interesting ship had just entered the harbor when Mei turned the conversation back down a confessional path.

"I have an older brother too," Her eyes seemed to waver for a moment before becoming steady again, "He left home a year ago to fight with the nationals."

"That must be hard on you," Al responded once again feeling the need to give her comfort through simple body contact.

"No I'm proud of him, Ling's a fighter and he'll make sure that China belongs to the Chinese not the white devils," She then flushed red in mortification from realization that she had just spoken rather rudely to one of those 'white devils.'

"Its fine," Al laughed with amusement at her display of shame, "I believe that countries belong to the people that live within them, not those who wish to control them."

"You're a good man," Her face was now red for an entirely different reason and her eyes once again gazed upon him with adoration, "I wish there were more of you out there."

"Mei," Al began cautiously knowing that she was capable of putting up a strong fight, "Why were those men chasing you?"

Immediately Mei erected a wall in between them, her lips became a hard line as if she was afraid that her secrets would spill out. Al wanted to continue to press her but the serious look on her face made him think twice, he could after all sympathize with someone who did not wish to share their past with strangers. All the same, if she was unable to tell him, it made Al fear for her. The rest of the walk passed in a strained silence neither party wanting to test to see if they could return to a casual conversation, Al now immersed in his own thoughts almost did not notice when Mei suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Al asked with concerned wondering if she was going to confess or take this moment to make a run for it. 

"We're here," She stated as she pointed towards the grocery store that he was suppose to meet his brother. Al smiled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed at not realizing that the scenery around him had become familiar, and that the sounds of the busy market had once again returned. He tried to turn and bid Mei a farewell and maybe a big brotherly warning about staying out of trouble; instead, her black ones that seemed to waver with emotion captured his golden brown eyes. Al wanted to reached out and pull her into an embrace, whether it would be a comforting one or one that spoke of want Al had not decided.

"I guess I'll see you…" 

The two of them remained standing together in the busy street, neither made a move to separate themselves away from the other. Al stared into her face noting, the soft line of her neck, the strands of black hair that stuck out of her braids due to recent fighting, and her large black eyes that gazed back at him. Al tried to walk away after all his brother was waiting for him, however Al found himself being drawn closer to her and in one swift movement bent down to kiss her. She was soft and warm which took Al by surprise but he was enjoying himself too much to think about it. All too fact it was over and Mei pulled away from him, her head bent down obscuring her face away from him.

"It was nice to meet you Alphonse."

With that, she turned around and immersed herself into the crowd, leaving Al to stand there with only the thought of how soft her lips were coming clearly in his mind. He was about to move forward to chase after her once more when he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder forcing him to turn and stare at Ed's face that was in complete shock.

"What the hell are you doing? Who the hell was that?"

Al sighed miserably at the fact that he did not have an answer to either of those questions.


	7. A fate worse than death

The hollow moan of the wind made the run down house that Mei and Dr. Marcoh were staying in shudder violently.

The nights in northern Amestris were cold and lonely, making Mei long for the near tropical climate of her homeland. Xing was consistently hot all year with the exception of the rainy season but even the raindrops were warm, the only cold areas were high up at the tops of mountains. She never thought she would miss her home, but she had not expected it to feel so far away.

Back home her clan would be close to celebrating the Moon festival, which was to herald the coming of the harvest months in autumn. Out of all the festivals, it was her favorite. It was the only time of year that her mother would allow Mei to mingle with the rest of the clan, to play games with the other children and watch reenactments of popular plays like Lady White Cat and the Tales of the Four Kingdoms. The finest part of the festival was its food; thick yellow noodles with spicy broth topped with fresh vegetables and beef, rice-flour skinned dumplings filled with red bean paste, roasted duck in sweet sauce served on sticks. The deserts however were the best, the creamy mango pudding, the lightly golden almond cookies, and of course the thick Mooncakes with pineapple or custard filling. The celebrations would continue well into the night, with dancing, songs, boat racing, and of course fireworks that would burn intensely against the night sky.

Every year the nobility from the fifty clans of Xing received invitations from the capital to celebrate the festival with the Emperor; it was considered a great honor and a sign of power. Even the oldest elder in Mei's clan could not recall the last time the Chan clan was invited.

Her mother never seemed to enjoy the Moon festival.

Mei tightened her grip on the woolen blanket pulling it closer to her body in an attempt to keep away the cold. Xiao-Mei shifted her small body in her sleep unconsciously moving closer to Mei's side, making her smile at the panda. Mei lifted her black eyes towards her other companion, Dr. Marcoh; she could barely make out the faint outline of his form in the dark gloom of the house. All Mei could see was his back but she could tell that he was not sleeping; she hoped it was not because the cold was hurting his face or if it was perhaps another issue. Even though they were working together, Mei knew very little about him, but she vividly remembered the glare of disgust smoldering in Mr. Scar's eyes. It was hard to believe that the reserved Dr. Marcoh could have done anything to hurt another person. He did not even yell at her when she carelessly abused his body in her attempt to explain the power flow in the human body, though he had been too impressed to be angry.

Mei found it curious that the power flow, an idea she had known all her life, was virtually unknown outside of her country's boundaries. She wondered how they could not notice the flow of energy coming from people, plants, animals, and the other elements that made up their world. The basis of her country's alchemy was on the principle of accessing that power flow then to apply it to the art of healing or self-improvement. Majority of people in Xing understood this concept and had limited access to the flow, only a few had the benefit of raw talent and expert training. Mei was one of the lucky few for which she was proud of, but ever since entering Amestris she at times regretted having it. 

In Amestris, where there should have been the usual power flow of the Earth's crust, there was the feeling of large numbers of people withering underneath. A sense of suffering and desperation came over her whenever she paid attention to it, and it made her feel uncomfortable.

Then there was the man in the underground hideout of the Homunculi. His outward appearance was that of a human, though his eyes appeared to take in everything around him but reflected nothing back. The man lacked a natural flow of power, and where the soul's presence should have been there was nothing but blackness. He was human but not truly human, and Mei had never been more scared in her life.

Mei squeezed her eyes tightly shut as if to close herself from the images filtering into her mind, she sighed deeply and her breath came out as white mist when it hit the cold air. In an attempt to calm herself down Mei reminded herself that not all the auras she felt were scary.

Dr. Marcoh's for example was more sad then frightening. It was like the flow of the river at night, dark and distant; though the surface may be, still the waters ran deep with secrets. She felt bad for him, wishing that he would smile more.

Mr. Yoki with his myriad of silly faces, leaving Mei to find him funny, kind of like the monkeys she saw in picture books. He was not a bad person but even Mei knew he was not exactly good either. His aura was like oil, it could slither into any crevice and you could never truly get a hold of it. Mei was not scared of him though, he was too silly for him to pose any threat.

Mr. Scar was the most different out of all of them. His power flow was like liquid fire that came down from Shian Mountain, intense and had the ability to destroy anything that crossed its path. Mei felt that an event in his past must have been fueling the fire that seemed to have no limit. Mei really liked him though, she knew deep down that, he was kind. After all, fires not only burned but also provided warmth and light.

If Mei was, brave enough to admit it to herself, she would say that out of all the auras she had felt, she liked Mr. Alphonse's the best.

He was an interesting case concerning power flow to begin with, since the soul's connection to the body and mind had been disrupted. His soul signature was like a soft white light that subtly blazed strongly against its unfortunate circumstance. Mei could only compare it to the fireflies that she used to capture on warm summer nights, a glow that would uplift your heart. She recalled how happy she was to hold a glass jar containing those lights, to drift off to sleep watching her precious radiance that felt like she captured magic. When morning came, she was upset to see that all the fireflies had died, their tiny bodies no longer emitting any light. She would then go crying to her mother who made no move to comfort but instead warned Mei about taking anything out of their natural home. Similar to the fireflies that died within the confines of the glass jar, Mr. Alphonse's soul was placed in an unnatural container that was stifling it.

She wondered worriedly if he realized the consequences of separating the three major components of the human beings: the body, mind and soul. The bond between soul and armor was strong, but by no means perfect. She had sensed it briefly in their short stay at Dr. Knox's house, but Mei felt his soul flicker. It happened so fast she almost thought it was a figment of her imagination, but the image of his soul wavering like the flame of a candle about to be snuffed out unnerved her.

His was a strong and good soul, but it could not last forever in that body.

The sound of the wind howling came crashing all around, as streams of freezing cold air seeped through the holes of the house. Mei let out a small whimper before clutching Xiao-Mei closer to her body, in fear that the house would eventually lose its battle against the unforgiving wind and collapse. The wind eventually backed down, but the onslaught of the heavy snowfall did not stop for a moment.

Mei hoped that he did not know the reality of his situation, for that would be a fate worse then death.


	8. Looking down the barrel of a gun

There were very few times in the last four years where Al considered himself lucky to be stuck in a suit of armor. Right now, the two of them imprisoned in the small and freezing cold cell at the Briggs headquarters was at the top of that list.

The only thing that could compare to the coldness in the cell that Al could gauge from Ed's shivering form was the ice blue of Major General Armstrong's eyes. It was hard at times to believe that she was the sister of the eccentric yet overly friendly Major Armstrong, and then other times not so much.

Ed gave another violent shiver that made Al turn towards his brother and regard his sorry state. The stone walls kept at bay the furious winds and snowstorms but it did little to provide warmth. Despite wearing the his thick winter coat and being wrapped around the heavy woolen blanket that the prison guards gave him, Ed still seemed to be freezing. It did not take long for Al to realize that the main problem was his brother's automail absorbing the cold air, which prevented Ed from gaining anything close to heat. At that thought, Al felt a different kind of coldness settling in on him.

The two brothers had come to the northern area of Amestris to further their search of the Philosopher's Stone and to track Mei or as his brother referred to her as, 'that Xingese bean girl with her killer cat creature.' Al did not admit to his brother but he was more concerned about her safety in this merciless icy tundra. Deep down he knew that she could not take care of herself but she was still young and the fact that she was traveling with Scar did nothing to abate his concerns.

Al crossed his large arms over his metal chest plate as he grumbled quietly to himself. He had no idea what she was thinking traveling with that criminal, Al wondered if she ever stopped to consider the dangers. Did she not know the trouble she was getting herself into? How foolish it was to go searching for immortality? Al sighed and tried to shake these thoughts from his head but the harder he tried the more persistent the questions began to rise in his mind. 

"Brother?"

Ed gave a noncommittal grunt but nothing else.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Ed groaned through slightly chattering teeth his breath coming out in white wisps of mist.

"How do you know if you like someone?"

"The Hell," Ed returned before turning over to give Al a guarded look, "Why do you want to know that?"

Al internally rolled his eyes knowing that his brother probably thought that Al was trying an underhand method to get Ed to admit his feelings for Winry. When was Ed going to realize there was little that Al did not know, especially when it came to what he felt towards their childhood friend.

"I'm just curious, I mean we never talk about stuff like this," Al tried to sound casual to appease his brother's fears.

"So what," Ed snorted shifting on the hard cot trying to get comfortable but failing, "It's not really high on our priority list."

"Come on Ed," Al urged, reminding him of when they were kids and Al would try to persuade Ed to play a new game.

"Well I don't know," Ed threw his arms up in exasperation before calming himself down, "I guess you just know, like your gut or your instincts tell you."

"I see," Al, returned trying to hide the amusement in his voice at his brother's cheeks that were now redder then they were a moment ago.

"But then," Al could head Ed groan in protest but continued anyways, "How do you know that she likes you?"

A great stretch of silence passed that was as palatable as that cold air that filled the cell, and Al almost wondered if he had forgotten to ask his question aloud. Then Ed gave another disgruntled sigh, "I think the only way to really know is to just ask her," Ed gave another violent shudder from either the cold or the thought of confessing to a girl.

"Wish there was an easier way," Al curled up his giant body and tucked his knees against his chest.

"Yea," Ed agreed in an equally disheartened tone, "It would be like starring down the barrel of a gun."

The two once again lapsed into another silence, neither of them wanting to further their discussion on the matter.

"Hey big guy," one of the prison guards called out grinning broadly at them through the bars, "Don't listen to shorty over there, if you like a girl you have to take a chance."

"Who the hell invited you into this conversation," Ed roared, jumping to his feet as if he was ready to fight the guard, despite the obstacle of iron bars or the wooden planks being used as handcuffs.

"You'll never get a girlfriend with that kind of attitude," the guard drawled back.

Al ignored the invertible verbal war that erupted between Ed and the guard, and contemplated the advice he had just received so far. The second part was bad; the idea of putting yourself out there with no protection and asking a girl that kind of question was beyond frightening. Al mentally remembered all the times Mei had shown just how skilled she was in bringing down any opponent. 

However, the first part of actually admitting his feelings to himself was even harder; Al contemplated what his gut would tell him if he listened to it.


	9. At the midnight hour

The sound of rain falling created a blanket of white noise that blocked out any other sound one would normally hear in the forest late at night. Mei sat alone in the middle of an abandoned barn that smelled of mildew and stale straw; her attention would flicker in between watching the entrance of the barn for the others or poking the small fire with a stick. Mei heaved out a huge sigh and burrowed further in her coat, even though miles separated them from the fortress Briggs Mei still felt the sharp cold of the northern mountains. Her tiny panda, which was never fond of rainy nights either, seemed to sense Mei's distress and rubbed its tiny head against Mei's arm.

"Its okay Xiao-Mei," Mei comforted with a firm voice almost as if she was trying to convince herself as well, "The others just went out for a bit, they'll come back, they have to."

Mei turned her attention back to the small fire that tried to burn against the damp and cold air, but was failing miserably. Her mind however did not seem to care that soon the fire would burn out, instead her imagination was sending her horrible images of what might of happened to her companions. Perhaps the rainfall had caused a landslide with their last breath smothered by the heavy mud. Maybe they took a wrong turn wandering in the dark maze of the forest right off an unforeseen cliff. Worst of all some unspeakable creature of darkness was stalking them waiting patiently to drag them down to the nightmarish hell of his lair. Mei shuddered in fear wishing for the first time in her life that she had been born with a lazy imagination instead of an active one.

Mei then heard a long drawn out scratching noise from the far corner of the barn.

She stiffened in terror; her stomach had turned into stones that were pounding against the inner wall.

When nothing happened after a moment's pause Mei released the breath she was holding in, deciding to blame it on the wind blowing through the trees, but she felt that it would not hurt to have her throwing knives handy.

Another loud noise but this time from the right side of the barn, Mei jumped to her feet with Xiao-Mei growling bravely towards where the sound was coming from. The door at the entrance of the barn jerked open with sound that was deafening to Mei's ears, before the entire door ripped open to reveal three shadowy figures.

"How could you forget which side the door was?" Winry grumbled walking a head of the others with her blue eyes flashing in anger and blonde hair completely drenched, it reminded Mei of the that time she tossed her cat into the pond to see if it could swim.

"It's not like you remembered either," Ed shot back already grabbing his braid and wringing out the excess water.

Lastly, a large steel suit of armor followed behind and even thought no expression could be seen on its features one could sense both tiredness and frustration. Mei relaxed her body welcoming the return of her companions that brought a sense of safety even though she was still a little on edge.

"Mei are you alright?" The armor questioned in a kind voice when he noticed that Mei was clutching one of her throwing knives.

"You weren't scared were you?" The oldest of the Elric brothers asked but with a decidedly more mocking tone then a concerned one.

"I was not," Mei huffed out in anger wondering if Ed would be able to duck out of the way if she threw a knife at him.

"Who could blame her," Winry stepped in giving Ed a warning look," I'd be afraid that this old place was haunted."

Ed raised his eyebrows in disbelief," There's no such thing as ghosts."

"How do you know?"

"If I can't see it, hear it or see any sign of it being there, then it doesn't exist."

"Oh really," Winry replied in a teasing voice, "That's weird considering you believe in the evidence of your intelligence though we can't see or hear that."

The two began their regular sniping matches with such familiarity that even though their words were harsh there was no spite in them. Al shook his helmet head at their antics before turning towards Mei and offering one of the apples that he had stored inside his armor.

"We were able to find an orchard twenty minutes from here," Al informed her while he watched in amusement as she nearly devoured the fruit, "Tomorrow when we leave here we should pass by there again."

"We better make sure to wake up early enough so we avoid running into the farmer," Ed commented while dropping a collection of twigs on the fire then frowned when the flames flickered weakly for a second before growing dim again, "It's going to be a cold night."

"It's this useless rain," Winry complained wrapping her arms tightly around herself, "It makes everything cold and wet, and a lot of good that does anybody."

"I remember when you were scared of rainstorms," Ed teased resulting in Winry glaring at him crossly.

"I was a kid and it was the thunder that scared not the actual rain."

"Besides brother," Al joined in, "When you were a kid Granny Pinako's ghost stories scared you."

"Ooooh that's right," Winry, said in over dramatic glee that made Mei giggle and Ed frown.

"I recall not being the only one," Ed remarked stiffly," Besides the old bat would tell it so seriously you thought they were true."

"Remember the tale of the Shadow Mirror," Winry fondly mused remembering when ghost stories were the scariest part of growing up.

"You might as well tell it," Ed suggest poking the fire with a stick trying to get the flames to burn brighter, "We have nothing else to do.

Mei's body tensed slightly at the idea of telling ghost stories, not that she had not heard any of them before but the event earlier still made her feel uneasy. As Winry prepared to begin the ghostly tale, Al was the only one that noticed that the look of interest on Mei's face seemed unnatural and she was clutching her small panda more tightly then usual.

"This is a true story it happened in Risembool the first year Granny moved there."

"Strange how all the true ghost stories happen when we're not born," Ed drawled before smiling innocently as Winry shushed him.

"There was this young widower whose husband died mysteriously a year earlier and she was planning to move to Central to start a new life," Winry leaned in closer then lowered her voice, "Late on night she was packing up boxes when the temperature dropped really low. She went to the fireplace to see if it had gone out but it had not. Confused she returned to her room but when she passed the mirror in the hallway, she thought she saw a shadow. She stopped."

Winry paused in her narration to gaze at each individual faces surrounding her; Ed's unimpressed expression, Al's curious interest and Mei's one of growing fear.

"As she stared into the mirror she saw the shadow of a tall man. Screaming out in alarm she turned to see if someone was behind her but no one was there, turning back to the mirror trembling in fear the woman saw that the figure was still there. 'Help' she cried out but no one came. Closer and closer the shadow figure came."

Winry then fell silent while the others made no move to speak until Mei's spoke in an uncharacteristic small voice, "Then what happened?"

Winry turned to stare directly at her with an expression of cold seriousness that almost made Al laugh aloud since it was a perfect imitation of her Granny, all Winry needed to complete the image were glasses and a pipe.

"The house lay empty for years. Half the town thought she just moved away the other half wondered if the house was cursed. Finally, a small family consisting of a father, mother and daughter moved in, they also experienced cold temperatures but just thought it was an old house. Then one day the daughter was left all alone in that house, and while she was brushing her hair in front of a mirror she thought she saw a shadow."

"And?" Mei asked though in a tone that made it clear she really did not want to know.

"When her parents came home they had no one to come home to."

Mei's black eyes stared at Winry in wide fear then narrowed in confusion when the blonde girl dropped her scary facade and smiled reassuringly at the younger girl.

"Are you talking about that old house behind the Millers?" Ed asked giving Winry a suspicious look.

"The very one and as you know no one has lived there for ten years."

"It has nothing to with it being haunted," Ed snorted in disbelief," No one is willing to put forth the money to fix that decaying place up."

"Well then next time you're in Risembool why don't you spend the night there," Winry challenged.

"I will," Ed shot back with fiery intensity then quickly settled down as if realizing how childish the conversation was becoming.

"It was a good story though," Mei mused thoughtfully her manner now more relaxed," Very different from the ghost stories back home."

Tell us one Mei," Winry asked eagerly her bright blue eyes alight with the idea of hearing a tale from an exotic place like Xing," I'd love to hear it."

"I wouldn't mind either, of course only for academic purposes," Ed reasoned ignoring Winry rolling her eyes at him.

Mei seemed to hesitate when the heavy feel of a steel gauntlet patting her softly on the back made her black eyes gaze up at Al, "You should give it a try Mei." Mei now felt that she could no longer put up a fight leaving her to take in a deep breath as she recalled one of the ghost legend the elders of the clan use to tell.

"There was once a warrior lord named Yaozu who was in love with his beautiful servant Daiyu. He tried many times to convince her to be his lover but she refused since she was a maiden of," Mei paused for a second her face scrunched up in confusion, "What would you call a characteristic of a pure heart?"

"Chastity," Winry suggested.

"Innocence," Al put forth.

"Someone who does not smoke and eat fatty food," Ed offered only to have everyone stare at him in exasperation, "What? I'm looking at a 'pure heart' through a biological perspective."

"Please continue Mei," Winry sighed giving the younger girl an encouraging smile.

"Well the lord Yaozu decided to trick Daiyu into loving him. His family was in possession of a collection of ten priceless vases, he stole one and blamed it on Daiyu who searched the castle frantically for the missing vase. The lord Yaozu then said," Mei then tried to deepen her voice to sound like a man's which only made the others try to smother their smiles, " 'If you agree to be my mistress then I will forget the whole matter,' but Daiyu refused so the lord threw her down the well to her death." 

"That's terrible," Winry, gasped with the two Elric brothers nodding in agreement.

"The next night Daiyu's soul transformed to a hateful spirit that climbed out of the well. She wandered into the lord's home counting down the number of vases; one, two, three, four."

Winry began to feel unnerved remembering that there was an old, moss covered well behind the barn.

"Five, Six…"

A loud bang outside made everyone jump except for Mei who kept on counting in a low voice.

"Seven, eight, nine and then she let out a blood curdling scream to represent the tenth missing vase," Mei following Winry's example leaned forward and spoke in a hushed voice, "This went on for one month and at the end of it the lord Yaozu went insane, impaling himself with his own sword."

"Did the spirit of Daiyu finally rest?" Winry asked half-amused and half-unnerved by Mei's story.

"Some say she moved on while others believe she continues to haunt the castle to remind those of her dismal fate."

The four travelers all sat back in a nervous silence, no one was in the mood to talk about the recent stories just told. Instead, they focused on the strange sounds made by the wind trying to discern whether they were sound heralding the approach of a dark spirit.

"I think," Ed announced breaking the unsettling quiet, "That we should all go to bed."

Everyone nodded in agreement and stretched out on the cold floor of the barn, Ed and Winry slept side by side but not close enough to touch until she reached out to grasp his flesh hand, which he squeezed reassuring in return. Mei huddled with her small panda unable to fall asleep instead she listened to the sound of the trees shuddering outside and the even breathing coming from Ed and Winry's sleeping forms. Mei felt her body stay alert with prickling fear whether from the ghost stories or from the recent events that occurred at the fortress Briggs, or not knowing what lay waiting for her in the future.

"Mr. Al?" She whispered out in the darkness the small fire finally burning itself out.

"Yes Mei," his soft voice questioned as Mei heard the screeching sound of the helmet turning.

"Were you asleep?" Though she vaguely remembered him telling her that his armor body prevented him from sleeping she did not know what else to say.

"Sadly no," he responded but to her relief there was amusement in his tone instead of offense.

"Oh, I see. Must be scary having to stay awake when it's dark and creepy."

"Well actually, it's more boring then anything," he paused and Mei wondered if he was done talking to her when he started again, "It was scary at first but I got use to it."

Mei fell silent already feeling better after exchanging a few words with him; she found it easy and comforting to talk with Al.

"I can't sleep," she moaned allowing herself to indulge in childish antics that her mother would be horrified to head, "I don't like ghost stories."

"Don't be scared Mei, I agree with my brother that its unlikely ghosts are real."

Mei nodded in agreement though she doubted her could see it in the dark gloom of the barn before an idea spring in her head. A second later Al jerked slightly when Mei came into his field of vision as she crawled over where he was sitting and curled up against his right leg.

"Me-Mei," he nearly stuttered out in confusion his arms hanging in the air since he had no idea where to put them, "What are you doing?"

"I feel safe here," she yawned out as she rested her cheek against the cool metal her eyelids already feeling heavy.

"Yes well…Thank you, but I don't…" Al stopped when he realized she was already fast asleep and decided that there was no harm in letting her stay there for tonight. With a sigh Al dropped his arms back down to his sides and concluded that if his solitary night sentry Mei then his immortal body would be doing something useful.


	10. Out of sight, out of mind

The first thing Al saw when he woke up was his brother sleeping in a chair, lines of exhaustion and stress on his face that were only lighten by sleep but did not fully disappear. Al was only able to relish in the happy sight for a second before the intense smell of antiseptic cleaner, blood, and the sweat of sick humans being crowded in too small of a place overwhelmed him.

Al felt his insides twist and thought that he was going to throw up; it was then that he realized he got his body back.

A new sensation soon followed, his eyes began to burn and hot tears were rolling down his cheeks. Ed woke up with a jerk at the sound, his gold eyes instantly narrowing on his younger brother as they quickly filled with concern, "Al are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Al still choked up with the emotion of finally having his body returned to him was unable to speak, after all it had been four years of searching, sacrifice, pain, and constantly feeling cut off from a world he walked amongst. He shook his head in the negative, but Ed did not seem satisfied and ran off to find a doctor. Once he was gone, it suddenly came to Al that it was the first time he heard his brother's voice clearly, without the metallic echo that came with him being a suit of armor. 

When Doctor Knox and Ed returned Al had managed to collect himself enough to hear what the doctor had to say. Even without having Knox explaining it to him, Al knew that he was nowhere close to being healthy. He had looked down and caught a glimpse of his almost non-existence body, that resembled a skeleton covered in pale skin then that of a fifteen year old boy.

"You'll probably won't be able to walk for awhile," Knox regarded Al with a steely but concerned gaze, "You're suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and probably a volume worth of medical issues. Your muscles are almost useless, your bones are brittle, and if we had the technology to look precisely at your insides I think we all would be disturbed."

"But he's going to be okay, right?" Ed gave Knox a hard look that said he would get violent if Knox said anything to the contrary.

Without flinching, Knox responded with a look that said he could take Ed on, "Well he's in no immediate danger like bleeding to death, but without proper care Al could possibly die." Knox then gave his full attention back to Al his eyes narrowed and face scrunched up that indicated he had something unpleasant to say, "But it will be a long journey to recovery. This is not something a hot meal and good nights rest is going to fix. It could take years before you're fully recovered, and even then you might always have problems."

"Thanks for being honest with me doctor," Al spoke hoarsely his vocal cords were rusty from the disuse, "But when my brother replaced his limbs with automail it only took him half the time to recover, and I plan to do the same thing." Al's golden brown eyes burning with determination met his brother's as the two of them silently made a vow to see each other through this next stage of their life.

"These damn kids," Knox grumbled but an affectionate smirk was on his face, "Well then I suggest you find a place where you can work on a long term recovery."

Both brothers nodded in agreement, without putting it into words they knew where they would be going, it was time to go back home.

Two days later and one treacherous train ride that Al thought would never end, he had no idea how that his backside would hurt from all the rocking, or the intensity of the motion sickness he had to endure. Al could not fathom how Ed managed to put up with nearly four years of practically living on the train. With open arms, the Rockbell women welcomed them home, Winry gave him a crushing hug and even though it hurt his weak body, Al made no move to break away from it. Instantly Al was placed in one of the patient rooms, with the expert and maternal care of Winry and Granny Pinako along with Ed persistent need to stay with him, Al began his journey to recovery.

Through the next month, Al received guests from Mustang to Mrs. Hughes and little Elysia, all of them lending Al their support and friendship. After a while, Al began to notice that none of them were the small Xingese girl and her vicious panda, and even though Ed explained the parts of Al's memory that were hazy about the final battle, he had no idea where she was.

"Whatever happened to Mei?" Al questioned one sunny afternoon; he was sitting on the floor flipping through an old alchemy book while Winry was collecting his bed sheets to wash. Al wondered if his forced casual voice actually did not sound very casual, because Winry hesitated before giving him a worried look in her blue eyes.

"She visited you briefly when you were still unconscious but then she had to leave for Xing."

"I see," Al, returned trying not to sound disappointed," Well I'm sure she's doing fine."

He then shifted his eyes back to his book and made no move that he wished to talk more about the matter. Winry seemed to take extra time in doing her chore, as if she was waiting for him to say something else or perhaps she was trying to collect what she wanted to say. In the end, she departed from the room and left Al alone to his thoughts.

Al decided that it was probably better that she did not see him after all. He was grateful about getting his body back, but in its current condition Al felt that he could be knocked down if someone sneezed on him hard enough. He was in a pretty pathetic state, nothing close to the princely image that she had of him in her mind. In the end he rather her continue on thinking of him that way, at least until he truly got his body back. Besides, she would eventually forget about him anyways, after all out of sight out of mind.

Later that night Al was outside playing with Den, though it was more like Al was leaning heavily on a cane in his attempt to keep his balance, while Den humored him in a game of fetch even when he could only throw the ball a few feet. It is fairly evident that you are in a sorry state if a dog took pity on you. The sky was a deep orange as the sun began to set; the crickets and frogs were already beginning their nightly serenade, soon the fireflies that looked like dancing lights would join. A typical summers night in Risembool, the air suddenly cooled down but it still contained remnants of the intense heat during the day.

"Hey Al," Ed greeted as he and Winry walked across the lawn towards him. 

"Hello," Al returned with a grunt due to the stress of throwing the red ball for Den, "Where are you two off to?"

"Um…nowhere particular…Wh-why do you ask?" Both Al and Winry gave Ed an exasperated look, which Ed ignored, as he seemed to be suddenly interested in playing with Den.

"We're going to town," Winry replied with a little more credibility then Ed's hurried excuse, "I need a part for Ed's automail but I need him to be there when I get it. Because Ed seems incapable of taking care of it."

"Why am' I always to blame," Ed called back while he wrestled the ball from Den's tight hold before throwing it far across the lawn, "It not like I do it on purpose."

"Sometimes I wonder," Winry replied dryly but her blue eyes seemed to dance with amusement at Ed's annoyed expression. Al watched the exchange with a warm smile on his face; it was nice to see everyone acting normal and comfortable, before there had been few times when they were able to relax.

"So tell Granny we'll be back later," She reached over and gave Al an unnecessary hug that he happily returned before she turned to pet Den who had now returned "Don't tucker Al out too much Den."

"Later," Ed now with slouched shoulders grumbled as he walked past Al to follow Winry, acting like the idea of going to town would be torture. Both Al and Den watched the couple walk down the dirt road until their forms were no bigger then pin heads against the orange horizon.

Shaking his head in amusement Al tilted it towards to the panting Den, "They're pretty horrible at acting aren't they?" Den merely cocked her head to the side, which made Al feel as though she was humoring him again, with laughter Al gently took the ball from her mouth and gave it another pathetic toss.

Al wondered if they realized that the direction they were going was towards one of the abandoned fields and not to town. Al contemplated if they thought he was too young or perhaps would be jealous if they told him that they wanted privacy in order to do the things couples do. Al obviously was old enough to know what they were up to, and a part of him was jealous but only because deep down he wanted the same thing. Not with Winry though, she was thoroughly his brother's.

"You look tired Den," Al said lightly when the black and white dog dutifully returned with a red ball in her mouth, "Why don't we call it a night?" Den instantly dropped the ball and trotted back towards the house to where Pinako just emerged from the front door carrying a tray of lemonade.

"I never thought I would say this," Pinako called from the front steps of the house, "But you're just as stubborn as your brother."

Al attempted to straighten up then gave her a good-natured grin, "I suppose it's in our blood." He began to hobble slowly towards the house making sure that he took his time and did not strain himself, there was no point in being prideful or caring what he looked like. When he finally joined Pinako on the porch, a light sheen of sweet was covering his face, the sky had now turned light lavender and Den was curled up asleep around Pinako's feet.

"You look like you ran a marathon," Pinako jabbed lightly but there was no sting in her words. She leaned over and poured Al a cup of fresh strawberry lemonade from the glass pitcher beside her, which Al greedily took.

"I certainly feel like I did," Al turned in order for the two of them to share a humorous look, before he drank the entire glass without coming up for air.

"I have something for you," Pinako tapped her pipe on her chair before taking a deep drag that came out in curls of grey smoke, "Would have given it to you earlier but you slept most of the day."

"I tend to do that," Al admitted sheepishly as he poured himself another glass, "So what is it?"

Pinako rummaged in her apron for a moment pulling out spare bolts and a scrap of newspaper, before she handed Al a envelope that seemed decades old from its yellowed and damaged appearance. Al took the letter with a thank you before turning on the lantern that stood in the middle of the table, a soft orange light soon encircled them casting off their shadows. Now able to read it Al was stunned to find it was from Xing.

With more enthusiasm then he should have felt Al tore open the envelope and retrieved the letter within, he felt both overjoyed and amused at its contents. Mei had obviously a long way to go before she could write fluently in the Amestris language.

_Dear Mr. Alphonse,_

I hope you are well being. I am well being, so is Xiao-Mei if you questioning. I got home in not multiple pieces and my mother was not unhappy about it. There are great changes in Xing now, at times too much, but it will not crush me.

I am extra very sorry about not waiting for your rebirth, but time is a fast mover. Your friend Win-ray sent a written note about it, and I could not _bear__…__bare__…go on in life if you thought me of bad. I was not happy in leaving…and miss you I do. Send a written note when not busy._

_Sincerely__…__Truly Yours__…__Friend of yours__…__With love__…__Deep regards__…_

Mei

"What's with that satisfied smirk," Pinako asked slyly, knowing eyes leered at Al's face that was now beet red with embarrassment.

"Nothing," He quickly responded though it sounded too much like a squeak to him, "I feel really tired Granny so good night."

With a lighter and more energized air then Pinako had seen on Al since he got back, the young boy shuffled off into the house. Shaking her head in amusement Pinako felt almost young again with all the love activity that was going around lately, but she fine with that especially if it made Al smile like he use to.


	11. Balance of Power

_**Balance of Power: The Guide to Raising Daughters **_

_In Xing, women need only to follow the Three Rules: obey their father, please their husband, and bear children._

_It is expected that the daughters of the higher echelon of society to base their conduct on these rules in order to retain balance and maintain honor for their family._

_A daughter of the emperor can never become the ruler of Xing, but she still can gain favor with her royal father by becoming an inspirational beauty and mistress in the arts of gentle entertainment. Women are delicate flowers that are easily bent by the fierce winds of palace politics, and therefore should keep their place and support their husband._

_This book shall be a guide to those raising daughters to become true ladies._

_At the age of four, you should now be preparing to bind the feet of your daughters. This is a symbol of wealth since girls from proper families have no need to work in the fields and therefore have no need to do excessive physical activities._

_The process begins by soaking the young girl's feet in herb and animals blood (Preferably that of a cow), and then you cut the toenails back to the point of no longer being there. Then break each of the toes and pull them under the foot pointing towards the heel, after that wrap the feet securely in silk bandages. Continue this process over the next few years at month intervals and soon their feet will be the perfect four inches in length._

_This process in intensely painful and many young girls will fight it in the beginning, but once you make them understand their duty, it will be less of a struggle. Also, be careful when cutting the toe nails that you do not allow the possibility of an ingrown toenail to occur, this can cause infection and lead to either toes falling off or death. If done correctly your daughter will have beautifully small feet that will please her husband and enhance her gracefulness._

_Little girls' feet are useless for anything else._

XXXXXXXXXXX

The railroad and the surrounding buildings lay in ruins at their feet.

At one side were the Elric brothers. Dirt and blood covered Ed's face but his golden eyes burned with anger at the Ishbalan man standing across from them, the youngest was a suit of armor and despite the various dents and smudges of dirt he was ready to fight on.

The man who glared at them with proud red eyes left behind a trail of destruction wherever he went.

He had killed many innocent people in his pursuit of his own perverse sense of justice by eradicating all alchemists that worked for the state.

He slandered the pure philosophy of alchemy and even though the Elric brothers admitted there were flaws, they still believed in the possibilities it held.

His worst crime was that he killed the parents of their precious childhood friend, two brave doctors who treated the Elric brothers as nephews and bestowed nothing but kindness to their mother.

He had made Winry cry.

There was nothing that could stop them from bringing forth his punishment, no force of nature or God could divert them from their cause.

That was until a blurred force of pink and purple flew out of nowhere delivering a fierce kick to Al's side sending him flying into the air shocked by the amount of force that shuddered through his metal body. The young girl planted her feet on the armor before propelling herself in the direction of a stunned Ed before she used both her feet to smash into his face.

The Elric bothers lay crumpled on the ground, utterly defeated.

Scar stood there mouth hanging open unable to utter a word.

Mei performed a perfect aerial flip before landing on the ground, arms raised and legs out in a battle position.

"Are you okay, Scar-San?"

XXXXXXXXX

_In regards to the sacred arts of Rentanjutsu, you should never allow your daughter to learn them. A girls' soul is too fragile to handle the power that lies in the force used by Dragons and Gods. Masters of the art will not even consider the idea of teaching a girl the ancient healing ways, for they are impure as which is proven each month when they bleed and therefore will corrupt the pristine art of Rentanjutsu._

_There is the fear that even if a girl would be able to master these techniques, would she be unable to control the high level of power granted to her._

_This will not be a big concern since most young girls are not even interested in learning, and would much rather spend their time in other activities._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Elric Brothers were in a bad situation.

They had unknowingly stumbled into the lair of The Father, the man who was controlling the Homunculi and shared an uncanny resemblance with their father.

They just watched their comrade and even friend accept the cursed gift of immortality before being transformed into a new, darker being called Greed.

When they attempted to fight back with their alchemy they found that it no longer worked, leaving them helpless. Now Envy in his true form had them pinned to the ground where they could barely struggle against his grip let alone escape from it.

The Elric Brothers were in a _very _bad situation.

To say the least Al did not know if it was a good thing or a bad thing when Scar and the little girl with the panda appeared before them. Scar had a dangerous gleam in his eyes like a cornered beast who would strike viciously at anyone who got in his way. The girl however had a petrified expression on her face as she clutched the folds of Scar's coat, when her eyes reached the figure of the Father Al thought she was about to cry. Al hated the idea of her being here, he did not know who she was but there was no need for her to be part of this unfolding horror show.

Her demeanor quickly changed to that of anxious excitement when Al saw Scar point in their direction. He was too far away to understand what the Ishbalan informed her of but Al quickly recognized it brought out a reaction from the girl, a scary strong reaction.

Apparently, his brother had broken her heart. Al did not know why but the idea of Ed hurting this girl made him extremely angry, his brother could be so unbelievably callous sometimes. His moment of outrage quickly passed when the girl let out a battle cry of 'Divine punishment!' before brining out a set of small kunai knives, her eyes narrowed in fury.

In a matter of minutes she used alchemy to send Envy (in his true form no less) flying through the air crashing to the other side of the room, while she remained a good twenty feet away.

Al had never seen such powerful alchemy used before especially at such a large distance between her and her target. He was extremely impressed as well as hoped that he would never do anything to incur her wrath against him.

XXXXXXXXX

_Young girls should spend little time in scholarly pursuits. Naturally, they will learn reading and writing because their high station demands that they be educated and not ignorant like the peasants. However, the girls will apply the skills that they learn to the arts of calligraphy and the reading of romantic poetry for the entertainment purposes of their family and husband._

_The mind of a woman can handle no more then that. Teaching them subjects in the areas of science, history and philosophy is pointless since the weak mind of women cannot comprehend such subjects._

XXXXXXXXX

The small group took refuge in a one of the houses in an abandoned mining town they found at the foot of the Brigg's mountain.

Al's armored body lay in pieces of the floor after he mysteriously collapsed only a couple of hours earlier. Dr.Marcoh heavily scarred face was scrunched in deep thought, an expression reminiscent of when he use to be a doctor and received a patient with a unknown illness. Scar scowled at him in mild annoyance but there was worry buried deep underneath his hard eyes. Mei and Winry stood the closest to him both gazing at him with concern that made Al feel both guilty and pleased.

Their situation was not in their favor. Al apologized for causing them so much trouble especially since they needed time to decipher the text of Scar's older brother to see if it would reveal any useful information. Now with him scattered across the floor Al felt that he would be even less of help to them. At his words Mei's wide black eyes seemed to alight with understanding, she mumbled a couple of words to herself and her panda before requesting the book from Marcoh.

She then tore out its spine and allowed the brittle and yellowed pages to be strewn across the floor.

Everyone stood by stunned to silence wondering if the cold had damaged Mei's brain somehow, Marcoh was the first to react scolding Mei for creating such a mess. Al noted that Mei remained calm through their reactions and confidently explained her theory about grouping the pages together based on similar words that appeared such as gold and immortality.

Al never seen the girl appear so serious before, it reminded him vaguely of his brother when he explained his own theories.

Mei had solved the puzzle by literally connecting all of the dots together revealing a transmutation circle that would bring about the end of their country. As Al listened to their cries of horror and despair he thought carefully to himself and realized that something was amiss, he then called out for them to reverse the pages.

When it was done everyone stared in stunned silence unable to bright forth words to describe the terrible future those pages revealed. Al grew annoyed by their silence unable to see properly due to his helmet sitting on the floor he desperately wanted to know what the results were.

"Well?" He questioned trying to refrain from sounding too urgent.

Mei was the only one who replied though he had troubles seeing her Al could make out the solemn expression on her young face as she turned towards him.

"This is the new Amertris wide transmutation circle," her black eyes stared at him directly, she did not avert them out of a sense of pity for him, "You'd get if you combined Rentanjutsu with Alchemy."

It was then Al made a firm decision to have Mei teach him Rentanjutsu, he would need all of the knowledge that she possessed.

XXXXXXXXX

_If your daughters follow these rules faithfully then they shall be able to fulfill their usefulness to society._

**Amy-Star:** I'm baaaaaaack! There has just been too much AlMei action going on in recent chapters for me to ignore the muses they have created. The next one will be about Mei teaching Al alchemy and the fun times that will ensue XD


	12. Blood is Thicker Than Water

She had been reading in the bookstore and lost track of time.

This was not an uncommon occurrence for Mei; she loved spending time at the bookstore where she could read her favorite books, without enduring teasing about their romantic and fairy tale contents. All that waited for her at home were more lessons to memorize and spells to practice and the constant reminder from her mother at how more talented the rest of her siblings were in comparison to her. Therefore, every Saturday afternoon she would escape to the bookstore in the middle of downtown, and pretend for a moment that she was a normal teenage girl, who did normal teenage activities.

Right at that moment she was a girl who was about to be late for her bus.

Mei quickly gathered her recent purchases stuffing them frantically into her book bag before jamming her arms into her pink wool coat. She was about to pick her mitten when the hairs at the back of her neck stood up as a cold wave traveled down her body as if someone dropped a bucket of freezing water on her. From the corner of her eye she saw a flicker of movement, turning quickly to the side her eyes met a room filled with people drinking coffee and reading books, none of them appeared to be threatening. Her black eyes then moved to the wall clock that said she had five minutes to catch her bus or wait another hour for the next one; she launched herself into a sprint her previous ominous feeling forgotten.

Mei pushed herself through the door into the icy cold rain, along with her lazy golden afternoon becoming night the weather had apparently also changed. Mei shivered uncomfortably but began to hurry down the sidewalk, maneuvering herself around a slow elderly couple and a group of teenagers standing around talking loudly. Frustration welled up inside of her as she resisted the urge to strike every one of them down for being in her way, but she keep it down instead only scowled with narrowed black eyes. Then she saw her bus a couple of blocks ahead at the stop she should have been at pull ahead onto the road and out of sight.

Letting out a cry of anger Mei temporary forget she was a mature girl of sixteen, a fact she constantly had to remind her mother of, punching a near by wall imaging it was the stupid bus that just had to be right on stupid time.

Finally growing tired of being angry, she decided she might as well seek shelter and wait for the next bus. Mei moved under a nearby metal awning for a vacuum store wiping the water from her face with the sleeve of her coat. The dark city streets slick with water were drenched in the orange light from the lamp posts, Mei listened to the soft clinking sound of raindrops hitting the awning mixed in with the roar of cars that drove by causing splashing sounds as they hit puddles. With boredom-induced curiosity Mei watched people as they walked by, a group of girls her age squealing with amusement or annoyance at the rain, a businessman was using his briefcase as a makeshift umbrella, a young couple holding hand as they ran across the street.

Normal people doing normal things.

How she envied them.

The wing picked up rustling the dried up brown leaves of a nearby tree the ends of her purple scarf now flying about, she crouched down wrapping her arms around her knees debating going back into the bookstore.

"Are you alright?"

Mei nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the voice no one was sharing her shelter nor did she hear someone walk up, then there was that cold feeling again.

She stumbled up to her feet attempting to straighten herself up before twisting her to head to look at the person who just joined her.

He stood in the far corner obscured in the shadows, what she could make out was his golden brown hair, tall stature, and small smile. Those were the normal aspects of his features he also had pale skin and deep golden eyes that were almost cat like in their ability to pierce through the darkness. A part of her felt on edge by his presence, there was something about him that made the warning alarms blare loudly in her mind but she could not fully grasp why.

"Yes of course," Mei stated clearly trying to regain her dignity touching her wet hair self-consciously, "Its only water."

He laughed quietly to himself, which irked Mei, "I meant when you were punching the wall."

"You were watching me!" Mei sternly accused.

"It was hard not to."

"Yes…well…what's your name?"

He paused for a moment before answering, "Alphonse Elric."

Mei scrunched up her nose in consideration," That's an odd sounding name, like a character from a gothic romance novel."

"I promise that I don't live in a haunted castle or plot to murder someone."

"Well good, I would cut this conversation short if that were true."

"Do you like gothic novels?" Mei noticed that he had narrowed the space between them but was too excited at the idea of someone liking the same books she did.

"Absolutely, especially ones with vampires," Mei internally groaned at that admission.

"Vampires," he repeated in an amused tone," Do you think they're real?"

"About as real as Santa Claus," Just because she liked romance did not mean she was a naïve, stupid girl.

"Well you never know."

Mei stiffened a little at his voice, he was entirely too close now, that loud warning in her head was now being stifled by a fog that creep into her mind. She tilted her head upwards to stare into his gold eyes that were so warm and inviting, suddenly the cold dampness of the night evaporated into a warm mist. Her blood now thundered in her ears, she felt heat rise to her cheeks and she was certain that she was blushing a bright red.

His hand lightly touched her right arm giving her a kind smile; it was in that moment Mei choose to kick him in the stomach.

"Nice try demon," Mei yelled out jumping back to place distance between them," I know your kind."

"I know yours as well," He continued to talk in a pleasant manner but he looked at her with renewed interest," You must be a magic user if you were able to sense me."

"Yea, so you made an unfortunate choice for a victim."

"I have to disagree."

Mei frowned at his casual behavior appearing not to have a care in the world while she had crouched down into a fighting position.

"Well are we going to do this?"

One golden eyebrow arched up in a question, "Do what?"

"Fight!"

"Oh. Only if you want to."

He moved faster than her eyes could register however, she went with her instincts and raised her right arm to block the punch.

"You're strong," He observed.

"Stronger than you think," Mei gritted out spinning herself out of his range the swinging back to kick him. Unfortunately, she underestimated his speed and the slippery surface of the wet pavement resulting with her falling on her back.

"Why don't you use magic?" He asked while starring down at her.

"Why would I waste it one you," she now had a splitting headache and figured if he wanted to kill her he would have done so by now, but that left her wondering what he did want.

The blood-sucking demon smiled softly and Mei fought every urge to smile back.

"I'll be seeing you again magic user," then he disappeared leaving Mei to be enclosed by the sound of rain falling.

**Tasha O: **So I work as a supervisor at Tim Hortons, and every week I think to myself "This will be the week that they won't have anything Twilight related to talk about!" Because one would think that a book series would have only so many topics that can be discussed, and every week I'm proven wrong. However the best part was that they inspired me to read the vampire books of my youth. Therefore the blame for this vampire fic is all on my staff.


	13. Lessons in Alchemy

Dawn in the Briggs mountain range crept slowly across the steel colored sky, the heavy storm clouds gathered in the west meaning there would be snow by the afternoon. Winry breathed in the crisp air that had only slightly warmed with the rising of the sun, but she enjoyed the peaceful silence that was the opposite of what her life had been lately. She hummed softly as she gathered whatever sticks she could find from the sparse trees that dotted the barren white landscape for kindle. Turning the last bend that would lead her back to their temporary encampment Winry came across a sight that left her rooted to her spot and her mouth open in surprise.

There in a small spot under the protection of a giant blue Douglas fir sat Al and Mei, both were silent but their body language spoke louder than words. Mei's eyes that were usually bright with curiosity or laughter narrowed darkly at the suit of armor, her body stiff in the defensive position, with a scowl on her face. Al's armor made it impossible to read his facial expressions; he was sitting straight with his arms crossed over her chest plate opposite of his usual open body language.

The two continued to stare at each other saying nothing, if they realized that Winry was now near them neither made a move to acknowledge it. Winry turned her head back and forth between them, trying to find some clue as to why they were acting this way. Usually when they were around each other Mei would stare up at Al in awe, the very image of a young girl in love while Al the gentlemen treated her in a polite, courteous manner. She opened her mouth a couple of times to ask what was wrong but the heavy silence bared down too hard on her making it impossible to get the words out. Winry had no idea what to do so instead she quietly slinked away while throwing concerned glances over her shoulder as she moved farther away.

"So should we try again?" Al asked tersely.

"I suppose, but this time you have to concentrate," Mei replied with equal measured frustration.

"If you give me the theory this would be easier."

"I told you there is no theory!"

"Then what Am' I suppose to do!?"

"Clear your senses!"

"That's kind of hard to do when you have limited sense!"

"Well fine!"

"Fine!"

Once again the two resumed their silent glaring.

"Have you ever played Cuju?" Mei asked suddenly.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Its very popular in the courts of the Xing emperor though I haven't been there personally," Her eyes were downcast for a moment before looking straight at Al, "The interesting part of Cuju is that the concept of making a goal is obsolete. Thread is used to divide the field and the players are supposed to pass the ball to each other within those lines. Points are taken away if the ball is kicked too far, too low or at the wrong moment, the team with the least amount of deductions wins."

"That's very fascinating," Al politely responded having become more used to Mei's small lectures on anything from tea to history, though he still did not realize what a game had to do with him learning Retanjutsu.

"When I was taught this game my teacher told me not to keep my eyes only on the ball because it would limit my senses, that I must also be aware of the field around me."

Understanding slowly began to dawn on Al as he mulled over her metaphor, "So you're saying my country's way of studying alchemy is to focus on the ball while yours is to focus on the field?"

"Yes!" Mei exclaimed happily, her eyes lighting up, "the theory is the ball while the understanding is the field!"

Al was pleased that she no longer seemed mad at him but a part of him wondered if she just unconsciously insulted him.

"To understand Retanjutsu you don't need the physical senses like sight or smell but perception. Perception is about concentrating on the spirit, seeing from within."

Al sat there still slightly dumbfounded about her explanation, at the end of the day, he was a scientist he needed theories, facts, and conclusions based on knowledge to learn something. He wanted to keep pressing her to make him understand but now she was looking at him with such hope on her face, black eyes sparkling at the idea that he finally got it.

Al mentally sighed wondering if this was going to become a reoccurring weakness for him.

"Alright I'll try to focus on the field."

Mei happy laughter made Al feel partially pleased but then also guilty when the scientist in him would eventually win out. He thought alchemy lessons with his teacher would be the hardest he would have to endure.

**Tasha O: **That took way too long to write…hopefully it was worth the wait ^___^ By the way Cuju is an actual sport go to Wikipedia to learn more!! .org/wiki/Cuju

Lastly, please I would love to know your thoughts about these stories, so please leave a review! I love them so much!


	14. Short but Sweet Part 1

**Hero**

Al was the perfect definition of a hero; not because he was a strong warrior that saved her from the evils of the world but because he took care of Xiao-Mei.

**Hurricane**

The first image Al had of Mei was a hurricane of pink and purple that came out of nowhere and sent him flying.

**Cold**

He wrapped her cold bare fingers in his gloved ones, scolding her for being too eager about building a snowman.

**Red**

At sunset the sky was blood red that was on the verge of deepening into night when she first shakily spoke the words that she loved him.

**Temptation**

When he was young his greatest temptation was a red stone with the power to restore his body, years later it would be what was reflected in the alluring black eyes of a Xingese princess.

**Music**

As he watched Mei dance he recalled Winry once saying that when you truly love a person every song reminds you of them, Al hated it when she was right.

**Silk**

Xing was known for its brightly colored and intricately designed silks, Al never had any use for them until he saw Mei dressed in a red silk dress with pink blossoms for his brother's wedding.

**Talent**

Al possessed a special talent that did not include his alchemy or his fighting skills, but the ability to calm Mei down when consumed by rage.

**Strength**

Strength was found when her small hand grasped onto his.

Amy-Star: I'm baaack! First, I want to thank all of you who reviewed and keeping reading these stories I really appreciate it. Second, sorry about being so absent for such a long time, in truth I was really lacking in inspiration for this couple. Which is why I'm starting out in baby steps ^____^


	15. Short but Sweet Part 2

**28 - Forgotten**

Mei had not forgotten that she was a Princess of Xing or that the laws of her country forbid her to marry a foreigner, she just choose to ignore them.

**32 - Farewells**

The first time she said goodbye to him was at the outskirts of in the late afternoon, she ended up crying and hoped she would never have to do this again.

**34 - Formal**

To the exasperation of her servants Mei always put up a fuss when forced to wear formal clothing, but her attitude changed when Al could not take his eyes off of her at a Military Ball.

**36 - Laugh**

He tried to hold it in but when he saw Mei covered with flour and pieces of apple peel in her hair from her attempt to bake him a pie, Al just had to laugh.

**38 - Forever**

Forever was a concept that scared Mei when she was young, intrigued her when she got older, and became the thing she desired most when she was with Alphonse.

**40 - Whisper**

The first kiss they shared was barely a whisper across her lips, but it left a deep ache within her.

**41 - Wait**

Despite his chances being slim to ever having his body returned, Mei vowed that she would wait for him

**44 - Hope**

Granny Pinako once said that hope came in many shapes so always be on the lookout, for Al hope to the shape of a girl with long black hair and playful black eyes.

**48 - Unknown**

Like any other scientist or scholar the unknown drove Alphonse to seek out knowledge, but no cryptic formula could compare to the mysteries that Mei possessed.

**Amy-Star:** First, I just want to thank all of you for your support. Especially to those who added this story to their alert list, favorite list, or left me a review. Thanks guys! I'm not ashamed to admit I live for those things!

Second, even though I'm getting my inspiration back for this story my mind is not exactly overflowing with story ideas. So I thought that perhaps I would ask you lovely readers for prompts (I'll take anything from word prompts, song prompts, sentence prompts etc…) especially since I got inspired to do these stories from a Prompt Challenge on LJ. I'll even take some requests if there is a particular Al/Mei scenario or question you want addressed. Just an idea, I feel like I need to be challenged in order to really back into this.

Till next time!


	16. Miracle of Birth

**Dedication: **This chapter is dedicated to Hotomi who has been a long time reviewer and gave me the prompt "baby" for this story. Hope you like it Hotomi :D

_Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything. __**~ William Macneili Dixon **_

Sometimes Alphonse wondered why he decided to use his alchemy to become a doctor.

On a good day he knew it was because he desired to help people and improve their lives, on a bad day like today it seemed like a fool's pursuit. He softly groaned covering his face with his hands, the words on the documents before him seemed to blur and no longer make sense. For the past month he had been attempting to find a way for alchemy to be useful during child birth. Unfortunately, his every endeavor ended without success. The endless pursuit with little to no results reminded Alphonse of the days when he and his brother searched for the Philosopher's Stone.

It seemed the act of birth would always remain a mystery and a marvel to an alchemist.

Scientifically Alphonse knew how it occurred, that it began with physical consummation between two partners, the merging of genes, followed by the period of growth and development within the womb. However there was another element, one that managed to bind the body, the mind, and the soul to make one living being. An element that could never be replicated nor defined by men, though many had tried.

Alphonse and his brother learned this lesson the hard way.

For Alphonse birth was connected to dark memories, when two young alchemists attempted to bring back their mother. As children they ignored the rules that banned alchemists from creating and giving birth to new living beings. Their arrogance would bring about a high price according to the law of equivalent exchange.

Then there was Tucker driven mad by the pressure to succeed that he used his own daughter and dog in order to give birth to a new life form. A life that had no hope of ever truly finding happiness in a world that created it.

His teacher who appeared so powerful and wise had even failed in this regard, with trying to bring back her dead child. The laws of alchemy were once again harsh and unforgiving. She lost her child again this time by her own hands and was denied the ability to conceive another.

Yet, Alphonse could still clearly remember that stormy night in Rush Valley, waiting nervously with his brother as their friend Winry delivered a baby. He would never forget how the lighting slashed through the dark night as the thunder made the wooden walls of the house tremble, adding to the already tense atmosphere. He tried to push down the feelings of dread associated with birth, never was he more glad to be proven wrong. The baby came into the world whole and safe, a true example of the miracle of life.

The message from all these lessons were clear, nothing in this world was equal to that of a life. The law of equivalent exchange could not recreate something of equal value to that of a soul. Alphonse never dreamed that his past sins and mistakes would ever allow the same miracle that took place at Rush Valley to occur for him.

Alphonse pushed himself away from his desk, at this rate he was only going to get more frustrated. He moved towards the far window of the study to where soft light from the beautiful spring day spilled inside. A few dark clouds floated by remnants from a short rain shower earlier that day. From the window Alphonse caught the sight of Mei strolling through the garden with their ten month old son in her arms. She would pause occasionally to bring their son close to one of the newly bloomed flowers. A small smile crossed Alphonse's face when he witnessed her laughter as the young child squirmed in her arms after being lightly tickled with a daisy. With on last lingering look he moved towards the door that would lead him outside.

The minute he stepped out of the door the sunlight instantly warmed his face, but the affectionate smile Mei sent him made that warmth spread through the rest of him.

"I thought you had too much research to do," Mei stated, her black eyes bright with amusement. Alphonse knew he would never grow tired gazing into her eyes, whether they be narrowed in anger or shining with happiness.

"It's too nice of a day to stay cooped up inside," he replied while taking hold of their son Jian whose small hands had been outstretched towards him. He gently smoothed down Jian's soft black hair, an identical pair of golden eyes stared up at Alphonse wide with innocence. Despite holding his child in his arms, the dark thoughts that had occupied his mind earlier retuned along with the familiar feeling of him not deserving to have a son of his own.

"What's the matter?" Mei questioned with concern, "You look like you're thinking of sad things."

"Just a little," He reluctantly admitted shifting Jian in his arms so his son could grab a hold of a nearby flower.

"Well you better stop," Mei said sternly crossing her arms over her chest," Remember what happened last time I caught you brooding by yourself."

Alphonse did not know whether to grimace or laugh at the memory of Mei challenging him to a fight and then winning after she got fed up with him shutting himself away in the study.

"Sorry dear, I promise not to let it happen again."

"Good," Mei nodded in approval before moving closer to lean against him, "I don't like it when you're sad."

"Neither do I, but the research keeps reminding me of past mistakes."

Mei raised her head to look him in the eye, "Past mistakes belong in the past."

She reached her hand up to gently touch his face before moving up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his. "You do deserve to be happy. After all you've been denied I think your allowed to enjoy what you have."

"And if I don't?" He responded half serious and half joking.

"Then I'll make you," Mei replied with a determined smirk.

Alphonse shook his head with laughter, remembering his brother's warning that marrying the "bean girl" would be a challenge. His dark memories slowly drifted from his mind as he watched his wife gently tickle Jian's feet which sent the child in a flurry of tiny kicks and giggles. He realized that on the subject of birth he had nothing to be sad about. The existence of his son proved that birth and tragedy were not inherently linked, and that gave him plenty to be happy about.

**Amy-Star:** Well that started out rather depressing but then it ended all happy ^___^ Once again if you enjoyed please leave a review, because I love them. Till next time!


	17. Breathtaking

Alphonse always knew that Mei was an unconventional teacher.

From the short time she taught him at the Briggs mountain range he found her to be passionate but slightly demanding, though he was not exactly the greatest student. That experience did not deter him from wanting to lean about rentanjutsu, there was just too much potential to do good that he was not about to give up. He waited years for him to be strong enough to travel across the desert in order to learn. For this reason he was put out when Mei announced that their first lesson would be breathing exercises.

"I really think I'm ready to tackle something a bit more difficult," he tried to gently suggest.

"In order to have a solid foundation in the art of rentanjutsu you need to master the basics," she disagreed shaking her head causing the braids to sway.

"I think I know how to breath," Alphonse retorted.

She then sent him a glare that was a little too similar to his teachers' which silenced him immediately.

The next day the two left the main Chang estate to travel up the one of the mountains that encircled the area. The humid air surrounded him like a thick blanket on a hot summer night, causing him to sweat rather profusely. He was immensely happy that once they reached the mountain path it was shaded by the trees and forest growth.

He watched in envy at Mei up ahead who seemed to almost be skipping as she jumped off rocks and over tree roots. She leaped between the shadows and the sunlight that filtered through the trees, darting to and fro like a brightly colored bird. Back when Alphonse first met her, he noticed that she moved with the grace of a dancer, swift and keeping in time to a beat only she could hear. Though Alphonse was no longer held back by a metal armor body, he knew that he would never move with the ease Mei did.

"Did you hear me Mister Alphonse?"

"Pardon?" Alphonse fumbled out realizing he'd been caught lost in thought.

Mei tilted her head to the side at his strange behavior but continued," I said we're almost there, just over this ridge."

"Oh excellent."

"You better be more focused when we start," she said in half anger and half in jest, placing her hands on her slight hips.

"I promise I will," he gave her his best gentleman smile that caused her to grin and blush.

The pair continued upwards, Alphonse could feel a cool wind rushing through the trees the higher up the mountain they got.

"Here we are," Mei announced pushing through the last of the forest growth with Alphonse just coming up behind her. The scenery before him stopped him in his tracks and took his breath away.

The country side was a patchwork of brown and emerald green fields, surrounded by small rounded blue mountains that had light mist covering their tops. A deep blue river threaded itself through the land reflecting the white clouds that lazily passed by in the sky.

"Mei," he exhaled out, "this is amazing."

"It's one of my favorite spots," Mei agreed looking pleased with herself, "well lets get started."

Mei sat down folding her legs into the lotus position, beckoning Alphonse to follow her lead.

"When I first trained back at Amestris, I did not wish to point out your handicap in learning rentanjutsu," she gave him an apologetic look," I'm sure it's the reason why it was so difficult for you."

"Yes. I suppose its hard to use your senses when you don't have a body," Alphonse conceded.

"But we not only sense with our bodies but our minds and souls as well," she placed her hands in the prayer position," When all three aspects of ourselves work in harmony then we can truly connect with the world."

"I see," As intrigued as he was Alphonse felt out of depth with an alchemy that focused on philosophy rather than science.

"Now close your eyes," Me instructed letting her own eyelids fall down, "Take in a deep and smooth breath, allow your body to awaken to its surroundings."

Alphonse followed her instructions perfectly.

"Now straighten out your spine which is the core source of energy for the body."

Alphonse shifted his position but did not feel a connection to any source of energy.

"Let your body relax so that it may immerse itself with the flow…do you feel it?"

For a second Alphonse wanted to lie but knew his frustration would only increase if he did not have her correct him. That and lying to Mei seemed like a scary idea.

"No, not really."

"It's because you're too tense."

He opened up his eyes which took a second to adjust to the bright sunlight before he could see Mei starring at him with a small frown on her face.

"What?"

"Too tense," she repeated adjusting her position so she was closer to him," you are resisting connecting with the flow."

"Well, where is this flow? I can't connect with something that I can't see or understand."

"It's everywhere," Mei replied simply.

Alphonse had to bit down a comment that would have made his older brother proud.

"It's in the Earth below us," Mei touched the ground beneath them, "It's in our minds and souls. Even two people can feel the flow between them."

She leaned in reaching out with her small hand to his shoulder, "May I show you?"

Alphonse nodded his head feeling slightly nervous and then felt a bolt of electricity travel through him at the touch of her hand. He flinched back startled at the sudden rush of energy that coursed through him.

"Wh-what did you do?"

"Nothing yet," Mei tilted her head in confusion, "Maybe your body is not use to the sensation."

"Of course," Alphonse stated but a part of him did not agree.

Mei's hand then continued across his shoulder to the base of his neck, when she began to gently knead the skin. Tingling sensations then traveled down his arms making his fingertip prickle with warmth. He felt his breath hitch in his throat, making him aware of every breath he took.

"How are you doing that?"

"It's the flow that moves through you. It connects all the different points of your body together. So you can start off in one point and end up in another."

"And that's how you do long distance alchemy," Alphonse clarified.

"Yes. When you understand the flow, you can easily move through it to distant destinations," she pulled her hand away taking the warmth with her which Alphonse instantly missed.

"Ready to try again?" She smiled encouragingly at him, the wind lifting her black hair away from her small face.

"Yes, "Alphonse closed his eyes focusing on the flow that Mei awakened in his body and breathed in deeply.

**Amy-Star:** I'm baaaack! The ending of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga had me brimming with ideas of where I could take this couple. Which is what I've been doing this past couple of months, in fact I've already completed three chapters. Naturally this means updates will now be occurring more frequently then 3 months apart from each other….so stay tuned faithful readers! Please leave a review because they make my day ^_^


	18. Never Pick a Fight With a Girl

**Dedicated to ClockRepair who has given me awesome reviews for all the chapters. **

His mother always told him and his brother to never pick a fight with a girl.

That real gentlemen would never lay a finger on a lady. Alphonse took those words to heart and he knew that Ed did as well, even if he grumbled about it.

However, after his journey to reclaim his body Alphonse came across several women who could hold their own in a fight. His teacher made it a habit to soundly defeat her students before lunch every day, General Armstrong meant the physical threats she gave, and Riza Hawkeye was certainly not someone you wanted to mess with. Despite his new found knowledge that girls could indeed take care of themselves against any opponent, Alphonse still held on to the lessons his mother imparted on him.

Which made saying yes to Mei that much more difficult.

It started out as a normal day. He and Mei had another alchemy lesson in the morning, Alphonse then went back to his room to catch up on correspondences and finish reading the text that Ed sent him from the West. Later in the afternoon Alphonse was going through his daily stretches in the training room when Mei found him.

"We're only going to spar," She said cheerfully at his apprehensive expression, "It's just for fun."

Alphonse nodded in agreement but at the same time remembering Mei's competitive nature and knew fun would eventually turn into serious. It did not help that after years of studying and training together, she was no longer the little girl he first met when she arrived in Amestris.

It would be hard to focus on the fight when he kept noticing details like the slender curve of her neck and how soft her hair looked.

This really was not a good idea.

"Ready?" She questioned her large black eyes were a light with the fires of determination, Alphonse felt simultaneously drawn and hesitant by them.

"Whenever you are," he replied politely, not going into a battle stance like Mei but keeping his body loose to fend off any attack.

She launched herself at him, Alphonse's body tensed then grounded itself in order to with stand the force of the high kick to his chest.

She was fast. Extremely fast, Alphonse was having a hard time keeping up with her rapid attacks. It also made delivering a counter attack very difficult if she kept on moving around him. Alphonse quickly recognized that she was attempting to confuse and wear him down instead of attacking him head on. It was a smart plan giving their size and weight differences, and she was succeeding with it. He felt himself already beginning to tire.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched Mei side step around him before crouching down. Alphonse knew what was coming but was unable to prevent the sweep of Mei's legs that made him fall to the ground. The wind knocked out of him Alphonse lay on the ground his back sore but he was thankful that at least his brother was not here to see this. It would be weeks before Ed would stop reminding Al that the Bean Girl managed to beat him.

"Are you alright Mister. Alphonse?" Mei asked leaning over him, the expression on her face was a mixture of triumph and concern.

"I'm fine," he replied grimacing as he brought himself up to the sitting position.

"Do you want to stop?"

Alphonse wanted to agree to that idea but then he reminded himself that Mei might be tough but nothing compared to his teacher.

"Maybe one more round," he stated bringing himself to his feet smiling at her, "I feel like I need to redeem myself."

He released a swift kick to her stomach that Mei jumped back from in time. Not giving her time to collect herself Al delivered a series of kicks and punches, this time he would be on the offensive instead of defensive. Mei managed to match each of his attacks with a block of her own, but Alphonse could see her staining under the force of each hit.

It did not take long for Al to spot an opening in her defenses and took it, striking down on her shoulder then using the flat of his palm against her stomach to push her down.

What came next Alphonse did not know if he did it out of instinct or a jerk reaction to the lessons taught by his mother. Whatever the reason as Alphonse watched Mei fall to the ground his right hand whipped out to grab her wrist and pull her back up.

The two stood there breathing heavy from their physical workout and watching each other. Mei stared up at him eyes wide with surprise and a light blush across her cheeks. Alphonse felt a warmth spread through his body that had nothing to do with their fight or the bright afternoon sun.

"Mister Alphonse…" Mei's eyes shifted to his hand that was still wrapped around her wrist. Alphonse quickly let go as if he had been burned and felt the back of his neck become hot.

"Sorry. Best two out of three?"

"I should get going, mother wanted me to do flower arranging this afternoon." Mei kept avoiding making eye contact with him but a shy smile played on her lips.

"Well have fun," Alphonse had no idea why everything he said sounded awkward or how his mouth felt completely dry.

"Thank you," She stole one quick glance at him before nearly running out of the room.

Watching her flee Alphonse realized that his mother was right about picking a fight with girls.

Amy-Star: This chapter was a little more saucy then the others. Guess I'm moving away from the innocence of their relationship to a more mature area. Hopefully I can handle it ^_^ Once again write me some reviews, I really like to hear what you guys think.


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